A Very Special Election
by AnneM.Oliver
Summary: Hermione Granger & Draco Malfoy were both running for Minister of Magic. Hermione was running because she wanted to make a difference, Draco was running to give her a headache. He didn't care about politics,so why was he running & why did it bother her so
1. Chapter 1

All characters belong to JKR

**Summary:** Hermione Granger is running for Minister of Magic, and she thought it was going to be an easy win...until Draco Malfoy decided to put his hat in the ring. Now, she not only has to deal with reporters and photographers, following her every move, but she also has to deal with a stupid idiot named Draco Malfoy.

She really, really hates him sometimes...and why in the world does he keep telling her he loves her? This will be either the dream job of Hermione's life, or a complete nightmare.

Runner-up Best D/Hr Riddikulus at the New Library Awards! Thanks to all who voted!

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**A Very Special Election**

**By**

**AnneM Oliver**

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**Chapter 1- Hermione really hates Draco Malfoy**

Hermione Granger, scholar, war hero, hard worker, respected member of the Ministry of Magic, was a very serious woman. She was currently walking with Harry Potter, down the corridor on sublevel three of the Ministry, heading for her office.

"I thoroughly hate that man!" Hermione shouted, slinging her office door open and kicking her shoes off her feet. She walked around to her desk and put her head down on her arms. "I hate him, hate him, hate him!" she said, banging her fists up and down on the desk.

Her assistant looked confused for a moment, until Harry Potter walked in the office. "She's ranting about Draco Malfoy," Harry explained.

"Of course, I should have known," her assistant said with a smile. She walked up to Hermione and said, "Don't forget, you have to go to St. Mungo's later, for the dedication to the children's ward."

"Fine, I remember," she said, waving the woman away with her hands.

Harry picked up the current issue of the Daily Prophet and said, "I'd like to know where they come up with this rubbish." On the front page was an article about Draco Malfoy, and the fact that he had just donated two million galleons to a war orphans college fund. The problem was that Hermione had worked hard to raise one million galleons for the same charity. She had worked for weeks, soliciting funds, raising money with silent auctions, a marathon, and other things, and the night before she was to present them with the check, Draco Malfoy offered them two million galleons, from his own money! Now if she offered them her money, it would seem that she was copying him, and also, the fact that his donation was a million more than hers, would belittle her offer considerably.

"Hermione, you know, your offer will still help the charity significantly. I know its rotten luck that Draco took your glory, but you had to know this would be a dirty election the minute you decided to run against him for Minister of Magic."

Hermione took the paper from Harry's hand and threw it in the fireplace. "If I didn't run, he would be your new Minister. Would you like that, Mr. Potter? I really do hate him."

"I know you do, Granger," said a voice from the doorway. "Is she very angry?" he asked Harry.

"Let's put it this way, Malfoy, enter at your own risk," Harry said. He turned to Hermione and said, "Shall I stay?"

"No, I don't want any witnesses," she said.

Harry smiled, patted her cheek, and turned to Draco. "It's your funeral, Malfoy. See you later, Hermione."

Hermione sat at her desk and looked up at Draco. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to come and see if we could arrange a little debate, you and I, to be hosted by the Daily Prophet, you know, your views against the right views, mine. Let the constituents see both candidates, so they can make a valued opinion on who they want as the next Minister of Magic." He sat in a chair by her desk and put his feet on the corner.

She walked over, pushed his feet off and said, "Get out of my office!"

"This is an office? Really? I thought it was a cubbyhole. So, about our debate," he asked.

"No," she said. She pulled on his arm, to make him leave her chair. He hit her hand away.

"Stop touching me, Granger," he laughed. "I might get your germs."

"Hello, Mudblood in the room." She waved her hand in front of his face.

"I meant your uptight, liberal germs. I like Mudbloods now, at least, if I'm asked that question by the media, I do," he laughed. She glared at him. He stood up. "Come now, are you still upset that my rather large donation overshadowed your little paltry donation?"

"My donation was one million galleons, and you must have had a spy or something to know which charity we were going to present it. You're despicable, and I truly hate you," she said.

"You can still give them your money, unless you were just doing it for show, and not out of the goodness of your heart," he offered.

He was right. She would have to do that. "You're right."

"Goodness, where's the media when you need them! I'll never hear you say that one again. Our debate is next weekend, at the Milton Hotel Ballroom. I'll have my campaign manager owl you the time and the guidelines," he said, standing to leave.

"I'm not debating you," she said. She sat back in her seat.

"You concede already? Splendid. Then may I take you out for a victory lunch? Your treat?" he asked.

She stood up, stomped her foot like a five year old, and pointed at her door. "Leave my office!"

He smiled again and said, "See you later, Granger." He started to leave, but turned back around and said, "Oh, and by the way, even if you really do hate me, which I really don't think you do, I really do love you." He turned back around and laughed as he exited her office. She picked up one of her shoes from the floor, leaned out her office doorway, and chucked it right at his head. He turned in time to catch the blasted thing, and yelled out, "Seeker's reflexes, remember?" He tossed the shoe in the air, caught it again, and took it with him in the lifts, still laughing for all he was worth, which was a lot.

She slammed her office door so hard that the glass in the door shattered into hundreds of pieces.

She didn't care what anyone said, she really did hate him.

Hermione worked late into the night. She was undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, Percy Weasley, who because of health reasons had to retired in a few months. The Ministry decided to hold a special election to see who would replace him. For the longest time, there were no candidates, so the Minister and his cabinet decided just to name a replacement. They immediately thought of Hermione. She had worked hard for the Ministry for the last six years. She had her degree in law. She was young, that much was true, but she was dedicated and honest, two things that were often hard to come by.

On the eve of their announcement, Draco Malfoy, president and CEO of Malfoy Global Incorporated, made his plans clear that he intended to run for the position. Everyone in the Ministry, as well as most of the public, was shocked by his announcement.

Draco Malfoy had been nothing but a media-seeking playboy who was not known for his judicious side, or for his care of politics. He would rather open a nightclub, than pass a law, but the Ministry had no choice but to open the election, and hold the special election after all.

In the beginning, Hermione was not even going to run. While she was flattered by the fact that they wanted to name her Percy's successor, she was going to turn them down anyway. She felt she was ready for a change in careers. She was almost 29 years old, on the eve of 30, and she didn't want to wilt away, grow old if you may, in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic. However, just the thought of Draco Malfoy winning and becoming Minister of Magic if no one ran against him, made Hermione's blood boil.

They had never been friends. They hated each other in school, where, by the way, Hermione was always number one and he was somewhere in the middle. It was not that he wasn't smart, he just didn't care, which in Hermione's mind was ten times worse. Then, at University, Hermione majored in Magical Law, while Draco majored in partying. In fact, he probably got his PHD in that blasted subject. Their paths barely ever crossed, so Hermione paid him no mind until that day….oh, that fateful, awful, dreadful, terrible day.

_(Flashback)___

_It was Graduation Day, and Hermione was graduating top of her class, with a degree in Magical Law, and another in Muggle Relations. She was set to give a speech at their graduation. All of her friends were present, Harry and Ron, who had both already graduated from Auror training, Ginny, who was married to Neville now, and expecting their first baby, her mother and father, her boyfriend, Anthony Goldstein, and every single one of the Weasleys. Yes, life was fine, and they were all so proud.___

_Then __**it**__ happened, and it was all Draco Malfoy's fault, and Hermione would someday make him rue the day that he crossed Hermione Granger.___

_It was a few moments before she was to take the podium. She had her speech memorized, (she must have practiced it a hundred times) but still, she was going over her note cards, one by one, practicing her speech, in silent hushed whispers, when she heard a noise behind her.___

_She turned, startled, and there he was. Draco Malfoy, graduation gown on, haphazard, a bottle of firewhiskey in one hand, and a stupid rose in the other.___

_"Hey, Granger," he said. "Happy Graduation." He walked up to her and handed her the rose. She threw it on the ground.___

_"What are you doing back here? You should be out there with the other graduates," she said. She turned away from him and looked back at her note cards.___

_"What are you doing back here, Granger?" he asked, amused.___

_"I'm getting ready to give my graduation speech, moron," she retorted. She turned to face him again and said, "Are you drunk?"___

_"Why?" he asked. "Do you care if I am?" ___

_"NO," she almost shouted. She turned away from him. He took her arm and turned her back around. ___

_"Don't touch me," she seethed.___

_He pointed his finger at her chest, and then touched her shoulder, her arm, her face, and her head. She flinched and hit his finger away. He kept saying, "touch, touch, touch, touch." He laughed.___

_"You are drunk," she said, pushing him so hard that he fell over. "Its graduation, Malfoy, why are you drunk?"___

_"Its graduation, Granger, why aren't you?" he asked back. He sat on the ground and brought the bottle back up to his mouth. She bent over, took the bottle from him, and smashed it against the wall.___

_"Get back out there, and graduate like a normal person," she said, as she tried to help him to stand. ___

_As he stood, leaning against the wall, his arm around her shoulder, he said, "You aren't as ugly as I recall."___

_"Gee, thanks," she said scathingly. She let go off him and he staggered. ___

_He said, "You have a whole parade out there to see you graduate, don't you Granger. Yep, the Mudblood has half the hall filled with her supporters."___

_She looked away from him and said, "Don't call me Mudblood, you stupid blueblood." She turned back to look at him and said, "You must have people out there."___

_"Nope, not a one," he said. He looked down at the broken bottle and he picked it up. "Why did you have to do that, Granger?" he asked, holding up the broken remains. "It was my only friend."___

_"That's your own fault," she said. She climbed the stairs behind the stage, and waited anxiously for the Dean to call her name.___

_"Ouch," Malfoy said from behind her.___

_She turned around and saw that he had cut his finger, rather badly. It was dripping blood. He held it up, laughed, and said, "Look, Mudblood, my blood is red, and you thought it was blue." He looked woozy, and then said, "I feel kind of funny, Granger. I don't think I like blood very much," and he slunk back down on the ground, his usually pallor more green than pale.___

_"…And now we give you, Hermione Jean Granger." Hermione heard the Dean say.___

_"Malfoy?" Hermione looked back at him. He was sinking lower, and he looked up at her.___

_"I feel sick," he said.___

_The applause from the crowd was dying down and the Dean said her name again. She started to climb the stairs, as the applause started again, but looked back down at him. He looked up at her and said two words, "Help me."___

_She bit her bottom lip, ran back down the stairs and said, "Malfoy, just stay right here, let me give my speech, and then I promise, I'll take you home."___

_As she started back up the stairs, one of her professors ran down off the stage, came backstage, and said, "Come on, Miss Granger, everyone is waiting for you."___

_She started through the curtain, but looked back at him. He looked up in her eyes and said, "Please help me, Hermione."___

_He called her Hermione, and she had a distinct feeling he meant he needed more than just help with his nausea, or cut finger, or alcoholic stupor. He meant he needed 'help'.___

_She had worked so hard for this day, and even if she did turn around and help him, he wouldn't be grateful, and he would never say thank-you, hell, he probably was so drunk he wouldn't even remember. And her friends and family were waiting for her, and she had worked on her speech for three weeks, and, and, well, damn him to bloody hell.___

_Should Hermione give the professor her speech, and ask him to deliver it and give her apologies, and then go and help the stupid prat? Or should she tell Malfoy to wait until after her speech, and then she would aid him whatever way she could.___

_Whichever she picked could affect her for the rest of her life, so she knew she had to pick wisely, and she only had a moment to decide._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Draco Has Hermione's Shoe:**  
  
(Present Day)

Hermione Granger walked briskly along the streets of London, thought of Draco Malfoy and she grimaced. She had a date tonight with her long time beau, Anthony, and because she only had one shoe, she was going to be late, for she had to buy another. They were going to St. Mungo's so she could present them with her check. She hobbled along to the closest shopping district; garnering strange looks from passersby, because of only have one shoe. She started to enter a shoe store, when she saw….him! He was standing in front of the large picture window, right in front of the shoe store, throwing her wayward shoe up and down.

She decided to try to ignore him, so she walked toward the door and he said, "Fancy meeting you here, at a shoe store."

"Yes, fancy that?" she said in clipped tones. She tried to move to the door, but he positioned his body right in front.

"What are you doing, Granger?" he asked, trying his best to seem bored.

"Gee, I'm at a shoe store, might I be buying shoes?" she asked back, sarcastically.

"Do Mudbloods wear shoes?" he asked.

"I wish I could record you saying that, and play it for the whole wizarding world to hear," she said, pointing her finger at him. "I wonder who would vote for a Mudblood hater."

"I'm just asking a question, for research. I need to know these things," he laboured, "After all, once I'm elected, I'll be Minister of Magic over all of the wizards, not just purebloods. Maybe I will hire you to help me understand the little people."

She snarled, (yes, snarled) and pushed him out of the way. She entered the store. He did as well.

"I have a shoe you can buy," Draco said, still holding her shoe.

"No thank you, anyway, it's my shoe, why should I buy it?" she asked.

"Why did you throw it, that's a better question to ask," he said.

She closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples. She had such a headache. "Please, go away, I have to buy some shoes, meet my boyfriend, and then go to the dedication at St. Mungo's. I don't have time to pittlefart with you."

"What?" he asked. He pointed her shoe at her and she took it swiftly and put it on her foot.

"So nice doing business with you, Malfoy," she gloated, but then she turned around and said, "Wait, scratch that, it wasn't nice doing business with you, but I'm glad I got my shoe back." She opened the door and started running down the sidewalk.

"Granger!" he called toward her. She turned around quickly. "By the way, I don't hate Mudbloods, and I still love you!" he shouted and turned the other way, and walked down the street. She continued to run, watching his retreating figure, and not watching where she was going, and she fell right over the curb. She landed in a puddle, and broke the heel on the shoe she had just reclaimed. She felt like crying, screaming, or killing someone. Where was Malfoy when she needed him?

As she stood, she tried in vain to dry herself off, not using magic, and she thought of that day again. She really hated Draco Malfoy.

_(Flashback)___

_Hermione Granger took one more look at the obviously drunk, most definitely nauseated, and probably faint feeling, Draco Malfoy, and then she held up a finger to the professor and said, "Can you give me a minute?"___

_"No, Miss Granger, we really can't. There are over one hundred people out there, ready to get their diplomas. There are other speakers as well. If you're not prepared to give your speech, then I'll make your excuses, but that's the best I can do. Now, are you coming?" the man said.___

_Draco, now completely on his back, held up his finger, his blood dripping down his arm, and he started singing…singing! "Nobody knows the troubles I've seen, nobody knows the sorrow…."___

_She sighed and said, "Make my apologies, please." She threw down her note cards, and walked over to Draco. She pulled on his good hand and sat him back up. She took her wand and mended his finger. ___

_She said, "Can you stand?"___

_"Can I stand what?" he asked.___

_"Oh, Merlin," she exclaimed. She heaved, using the wall for leverage, and she stood him up. She said, "Draco, seriously, is there anyone out there for you, a friend, a relative, a neighbor, a pet? Anyone?"___

_"I have no one but you, my pretty, little friend," he said, tweaking her nose.___

_"Don't call me that," she said.___

_"Why, you are pretty," he said.___

_"I meant, your friend. We are not friends, and you're just drunk or you wouldn't call me pretty either," she said, as she led him to the back of the backstage. ___

_"Well, since I am drunk, I can call you pretty. In fact, both of you are pretty," he said.___

_"How many of me are there?" She actually smiled.___

_"At the moment, two, but that's alright, you are the prettiest of the two," he said, smiling. He leaned in as if he was going to kiss her and she pushed him away, but not far, since her arm was still around him. ___

_"What the hell are you doing?" she asked, shocked.___

_"Kissing you," he said. He leaned in again.___

_"Yuck, no!" she said. She let go of him and he toppled over and landed on the floor, near the backdoor. Hermione shook her head in disbelief, opened the double doors, and with all her might and muscle, she ROLLED him outside. Once outside, she said, "Where do you live, so I can apparate you home?"___

_"I am homeless," he stated. He sat up and leaned against the wall.___

_"You aren't homeless," she spat back.___

_"Fine, I have four, no, five, no eight, oh, hell, I don't know, I have a lot of houses, but no homes. Will you be my home?" he asked. He slouched over and landed on the ground again.___

_"OH, Malfoy, I swear. I don't need this today." She sat him up and with her wand she said a spell to help revitalize him, if only a bit. "Listen, Malfoy. We need to get in there and graduate, and then I have a big celebration to go to, and even though you're acting as if you have nothing or no one, I bet you do. Will you come back in with me and graduate?" she asked.___

_"I'm not graduating," he said. He felt a bit more sober, and was now slightly embarrassed.___

_"Why aren't you graduating?" she asked, really interested.___

_"I mean, I'm supposed to graduate, and I'm sure they'll owl my diploma to me, but I have no intention of going in there." He stood back up. "Thanks for nothing, Granger." He swayed slightly, but started down the alleyway.___

_"Wait, Malfoy, I helped you out, from the goodness of my heart, and you act like an ingrate! I was supposed to give a speech back there, but you asked me to help you, so I did," she said.___

_"What do you want, a humanitarian award? Anyway, I didn't ask you for help," he said. He looked down, embarrassed again.___

_"Actually, you did ask for my help! You said 'Help me'! You know what, fine!" she screamed, as tears sprang to her eyes. "I am such a bloody fool! I thought I was doing the right thing! I didn't do it for show, for thanks, for myself! I thought I was helping you." She paced back and forth, tears now coming freely. She tried the door, and it was locked. She took out her wand to unlock the door, and he pulled on her arm.___

_"Why the hell are you crying?" he asked. "At least you have friends and family out there, at least you've accomplished something!"___

_"Oh poor, pitiful, Malfoy!" she said. "You accomplished something too, you know. You accomplished ruining my graduation!" She turned back around and unlocked the door. She pulled it open and he pushed it shut. He turned her around so fast, that she spun and tripped. She landed in a heap on the dirty ground of the alley.___

_He looked shocked. He didn't mean for her to fall. He slid down the wall beside her and said, "Bloody hell, Granger. Bloody hell." He did not know what else to say. "I have a headache," he said. "I need to go get drunk. Do you want to join me?" He looked over at her.___

_"Why would I want to join you after all that happened? You made me miss my speech; I'm probably missing my diploma this very moment. My graduation will be a bad memory for the rest of my life! My friends, and boyfriend and family are probably concerned for me! And you want me to join you getting drunk? Seriously? Why the hell would I join you?" She took a deep, ragged breath in and then quietly she said, "I hate you, Malfoy."___

_"I know you do," he said. "And to answer your other question, Granger, as to why I would want you to join me, well," he paused, and offered his hand to her. She hit it away. He shrugged and started down the alley. He turned back around and said, "To answer the other question, I wanted you to join me because I love you. I really do." Hermione looked up at him suddenly, but he was already gone._

(Present Day)

Hermione was sipping white wine alone at her table at the dedication ceremony. Her speech went rather well, all things considering. Anthony was over talking to Harry and Ron, about Quidditch no doubt. There was a reporter from the Daily Prophet here, and he took her picture, and said there would be a small article on the third page about her donation. Well, it wasn't front-page news, like Malfoy's donation was, but it was more than she could ask.

Anthony looked over at her and winked. She smiled at him. "Does he have something in his eye?" came a question from behind her.

No, please, why was he here? Draco sat down next to her and fingered the material of her midnight blue gown. "Very nice outfit, did you embezzle some of the money for the charity to buy this little garment? I don't think on your salary you could afford it. You know, maybe you need the Minister position more than I do, just for the salary raise."

"Why are you here?" she asked, not even looking at him. He touched her sleeve again. "Do not touch me!" she said, giving him an evil glare.

"I'll ignore your bad manners and tell you why I'm here. First, I was invited; second, I am going to announce our upcoming debate. I think I'll do it right now, the podium looks free," he said, as he stood.

She felt panicked, and she stood up as well. "No, please, don't. I am not debating you."

"Actually, you are right now. Let's see, I am pro debate, you are con, you have five minutes, give me your best argument, go," he said, looking at his watch.

"Malfoy, I don't want to be publicly humiliated. I don't even like to talk in public that much," she leveled.

"You just gave a speech, Granger, so I don't buy that. Also, you're running for Minister of Magic, and you're telling me that you don't like talking in public? Oh, I am so going to beat you, Granger." He laughed aloud. "I seem to remember you liked giving speeches in school."

"Yes well, the last speech I was going to give at school was ruined by you, as I seem to remember, although I am sure you don't," she said.

He really did look confused. "What are you going on about?" he asked.

"You don't remember graduation?" she asked.

"I remember graduating, and I remember getting drunk, and well, that's about it," he said. "What does that have to do with you giving speeches?"

He didn't remember! He ruined her graduation, and he didn't remember! She bit her upper lip, and then stared at him incredulously. "My stars, Malfoy. You ruined my graduation, with your drunken debauchery, and you don't even recall it. Graduation was not even a significant event to you, it was one of the most significant events of my life, and do you want to know why? Because you spoiled it for me! I hate you, Malfoy." It just seemed to be the fitting thing to say, even if it was getting old. She stood up and walked out to the hallway.

He stayed at the table, drank the rest of her wine, and thought hard about that night. Hell, it was years ago, he really didn't recall anything. He recalled getting drunk, and he had wanted to give Hermione a rose, and tell her congratulations for graduating at the top of their class, but beyond that, he really didn't know what happened. What had he done to ruin her graduation? Well, Draco Malfoy decided he would just have to find out, and perhaps whatever it was, it was the reason why she told him she hated him every other sentence.

He remembered one other thing about that night, it was the night he was going to tell her that he loved her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Hermione Merely Dislikes Draco Immensely:**

(Present Day)

Anthony looked all around for Hermione. He finally found her standing outside the hall, looking rather exhausted. He came up to her and said, "What's wrong, darling?"

"I'm just tired. I want to go home, do you mind?" she asked.

"No, of course not, I'll see you in a few days," he responded, giving her cheek a kiss.

When Hermione asked him if he minded if she went home, she meant did he mind taking her home. He was so obtuse sometimes. They had been dating off and on for over seven years. They were actually more off at the moment, than on, however, he was her campaign manager, and he wanted Hermione to win more than she did, and he thought for appearance sake, they should provide an united front, and continue to be a couple, as least until after the election. She did not mind. She enjoyed his company, and he always gave her plenty of room.

Later that night, she tossed and turned in her bed as she tried to sleep. Draco Malfoy was so infuriating! If he did not recall ruining her graduation, then he most certainly did not recall what happened afterwards, or even the little incident that happened the week before. Of course, the week before graduation, he was not drunk, so surely he remembered that. Hermione made such a fool of herself that day, that she was sure she would never forget it.

_(Flashback)___

_Hermione sat at a table in the Dean's formal dining room at the Wizard University where she had attended the last four years. She and the other top students were attending the luncheon that day to hear which students would be named top of their class. The top student of each major would deliver a speech at the graduation ceremony.___

_She already knew her grades garnered her at least the number two or three spot, but most likely, she was number one. She used to go check her standing every other day, until the Dean's office put up a ward, prohibiting her from entering.___

_As she looked around the room, she felt very nervous. She did not know very many people here. The Dean and the Assistant Dean were both there, as well as all the department heads, several professors, a reporter from the school's newspaper, as well as many of her fellow students. There were members of the board of governors, as well as several Ministry officials. She looked down at her salad as it had just been served, and was about to take a bite when she heard, "Would you like some wine?"___

_She said, "Yes, thank you," and turned her head, smiled, looked up at the questioning man's face, and then frowned.___

_Draco set a wine goblet down in front of her and said, "I only took two drinks." She pushed the wine away from her as he asked the man sitting next to her to move. "Would you mind scooting over so I can sit next to this charming young lady, thank you," he said, not giving the man anytime to speak.___

_"Please, leave," Hermione said, adding, "What are you doing here?"___

_"If I leave, I can't answer your question," he said, taking her fork and spearing a crouton from her salad. He made a disgusted face, took the crouton out of his mouth with his fingers, and put it back on her salad plate. ___

_She pushed her salad away from her as well, and it looked good, too. He said, "I was invited. I'm in contention for top spot in our major."___

_She turned to him and said, "You're lying!"___

_He laughed and said, "Prove it."___

_"What do you mean, our major?" she asked. "What's your major?"___

_"Magical Law, just like you, but more specific, Business Law," he answered. He took a drink of the wine glass that he had previously given to her.___

_"I knew we had some classes together, but I don't recall seeing you that often," she said, as if wondered aloud. ___

_"Well, I took a few semesters abroad, you know," he said.___

_She said, "Are you really up for top spot?"___

_"Why is that so hard to believe?" he asked, as he started to eat the food that was just placed in front of him. "I will have you know there's more to me than beauty."___

_"You didn't do that well at Hogwarts, did you?" she asked.___

_"No, not really," he answered.___

_She looked shocked as he started to put his garnishments on her plate. She picked them up and put them on her discarded salad plate. "I don't believe you're up for top spot," she reiterated.___

_"Well, when I'm up there giving the speech, and you're in your chair crying, you will believe it," he said.___

_She looked down at her lap. This was her dream. She didn't get to graduate from Hogwarts, where she surely would have been head girl, and top of the class. That was why being top here at University was so important. That was why she was so excited about graduating.___

_He said, "Why so quiet, Granger?" She shrugged. He said, "Are you going to eat that?" He pointed at her filet mignon, but before she could answer, he took it right off her plate. "Buck up, Granger," he said. "You will probably come in second or third. You're used to being second to Potter, aren't you? Isn't that where you're most comfortable?" he asked, "Being under someone?" He smiled at his double entendre. ___

_She turned very quiet. She said, "I didn't get to graduate at Hogwarts, you know, and I would have been top there, I know it, so this is important to me." She was reflective for a while, but then she turned to him to finish her thought. She took her fork, which she had just put a small carrot on, and said, "You don't even care for top spot, do you? You probably just studied hard to take it away from me."___

_He laughed loudly and said, "That's right, you little delusional Muggle-born. Everything I do is because of you." She still had her carrot-impaled fork sticking in his face. "Point that somewhere else, Granger," he said, as he took her fork and ate her carrot. ___

_It was apparent he was not going to let her eat, which was fine, she was suddenly not hungry anyway. All Hermione could think to say was, "Humph!" She knew Malfoy had the capability to be a good student, she just always assumed that he was not. She still was not totally convinced he was really up for top spot. He was probably lying. She reached over for her wine glass, when she suddenly remembered that it really was his. She went to place it back down as Malfoy was removing the rest of her carrots from her plate. Their arms clashed and the wine went all over her.___

_"No manners at all," he said as he took his napkin and began to sop up the wine from her lap.___

_"Do you mind?" she asked. She took his napkin from his hand and threw it at him. Then she took what she understood to be her napkin and began to clean her dress. She pulled the cloth napkin up to her chest, when she realized her fatal error.___

_Instead of her napkin, she had a hold of the linen tablecloth.___

_She continued to pull on the white garment, still oblivious to what was about to occur, until Draco gasped and said, "GRANGER!"___

_Everyone at their table soon let out a collective gasp as their plates, glasses, silverware, food, as well as the candles and the floral centerpiece, came rushing toward Hermione. Still not understanding what she was doing, and with the tablecloth still tight in her grasp, she continued to back up from the table, and with the laws of physics against her, all the contents of the table crashed down at her feet.___

_Everyone started to laugh. Laughter filled every corner of the room. She looked over at Draco, and he was laughing as well, but what else would she expect.___

_She looked around and meekly said, "I am so sorry." She turned and ran from the room. She ran right toward the bathroom, where she stayed, locked in a stall, until the dinner was over. She would have apparated home, but her purse and wand was left under her chair.___

_Her dress, which she could not dry with magic, was stained and still wet, therefore ruined. She poked her head out of the bathroom, and saw most of the inhabitants of the dining room making their way out to the hall. She decided to wait a few more minutes, and then go retrieve her purse and wand, and then go home and die from mortification.___

_Someone knocked on the bathroom door. She came out of her stall, and thought that if it was Draco Malfoy she would stick his head in a toilet and drown him, so help her, she would. It was not him. It was the Dean.___

_"Miss Granger, are you still hiding?" He smiled.___

_"Oh, well, you see, um, yes." No, she certainly would not be named top student with her vocabulary, she decided.___

_"Listen, Miss Granger, don't be so embarrassed. Perhaps you could find a way to put your blunder in your graduation speech."___

_Her eyes widen and she said, "Really! I'm number one? Really?"___

_"Really, now come in and have pudding," he said.___

_She came out in the hall and said, "If it's all the same to you, I think I would rather go home and start on my speech!"___

_He shook her hand, and told her that his staff would be in touch with her regarding the arrangements.___

_She was so giddy that she almost skipped outside. She stood under the portico and twirled in delight! "WEE!" she squealed.___

_She stopped when she heard one lone person applauding, and wolf whistling. "Congratulations, Granger!"___

_She felt her face grow red, probably for the third time that evening. He had her purse tucked between his knees, and he was still applauding. She walked over to him, and when she noticed that his appreciation was sincere, she said, "Thank You, Draco." He was not being condescending, or mocking, so she said, "I'm sorry for your luck though. Where did you end up?"___

_"Don't know, don't care." He shrugged. "I wasn't really up for top spot anyway. I lied." He handed her purse to her. He held out his hand and said, "Really, the best person won. Congrats again, Hermione."___

_"It really wasn't a contest, and I'm not the best person," she said humbly.___

_He raised his eyebrows and gave her a crooked smile. He said, "My hand is still stuck out in the air, Granger. I'm beginning to feel awkward. Shouldn't you shake it or something?"___

_"Oh, yeah," she laughed, discomfited at how awkward she suddenly felt. She hesitantly took his hand in hers, and pumped it up and down a few times. He did not let go, so neither did she. Instead, he pulled her closer. She was extremely aware of the smell of his aftershave, and how his eyes resembled molten steel. She felt a tickle in her tummy, but maybe that was because she was so hungry. ___

_He pulled her closer still, so that not only were their hands touching, but also their faces were dangerously close. "Really," he said softly. "I couldn't be happier for you."___

_She tried to smile, but she was shaking. She finally said, "You can let go of my hand now."___

_"You could let go, too, you know," he said as he smiled. "It's not like I am exactly holding you so tight that you're my prisoner, but if you're into that type of thing, I have some handcuffs at home we could try."___

_He actually tightened his grip at that and she said, "I demand you let go of my hand, now!"___

_He smirked, as only Draco Malfoy could, and said, "I see how it is; you're into domination as well. You like to tell a chap what to do. Well, I'm sure I could find a whip and chain somewhere as well."___

_She pulled her hand from his and wiped it on her dress, for affect. She said, "Why are you like this? Such an arse all the time? Must you always be a prat?"___

_"Yes, it comes naturally, my dear," he smiled.___

_"Well, stop it, right now," she demanded.___

_He laughed loudly again and said, "You are always good for a chuckle, Granger. The only women who can tell me what to do are my mother and my dominatrix. Since you are neither, I will do what I please. Now, as I said before, if you're into that type of thing…." He trailed off.___

_"You know, Malfoy," she said, her eyes narrowed, arms folded in front of her chest, "I really do hate you sometimes."___

_It probably wasn't the first time she had ever said that to his face, but she felt like it was probably the first time she truly meant it.___

_He smiled, although it looked false, and said, "I really do know that Granger, and that's such a shame, because I, well, never mind." ___

_When he did not finish his sentence, she said, "What? Don't leave your thoughts out there in thin air, what were you going to say?"___

_"Oh, wait and wonder, Granger," he said. He walked past her, and smiled. Then he turned back and said, "Here, this is yours." He reached in his jacket pocket, pulled out a carrot, and as her mouth opened to say something, he popped it in her mouth. She spit it out. He walked away laughing, and she apparated home, angry, wet, and yet, happy at the same time._

(Present Day)

As Hermione remained awake, she wondered if that was going to be the first time that he told her that he loved her. He said it almost every time they saw each other, so she really did not remember when he first said it. Actually, she practically told him she hated him every time they saw each other, and that was always his response, so in a way, she initiated that response from him. Now that she really thought about it, as she lay alone in her bed in the middle of the night, she realized that it really was disturbing, him saying he loved her all the time, but what was even more disturbing was the fact that she told him she hated him.

Hate was such a strong, mean, debilitating word. It was very immature of her to tell him that she hated him all the time, especially since it was not even true. She did not hate him. She believed you should only hate the truly evil and bad. He was only mildly evil and bad. She may not like him, but she was sure she did not really hate him, either.

Next time, and she knew there would definitely be a next time, but the next time he anger her to the point of distraction, instead of saying that she hated him, she would just tell him that she disliked him immensely. Yes, that was much nicer, had more of a well-rounded sound to it. She knew that the only reason he said he loved her was to get under her skin, and because she said she hated him. She wondered what he would say when she said, "You know what, Malfoy, I really do dislike you immensely." Just thinking of it made her smile. He could not say he loved her if she did not say she hated him. He did not love her anyway, did he? Of course not!

She finally went to sleep, dreaming for some odd reason, of Draco Malfoy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Hermione and Draco in a Broom Closet: ****  
**  
(Present Day)

Hermione felt much better in the light of day. Yes indeed. She had a new spring in her step and a spark in her eye. She was not sure why she had this new lease on life, maybe it was because she no longer hated Draco Malfoy. Merely disliking him took a weight off her shoulders. She turned the corner in her hallway at work and ran into Harry. "Oh, Harry, hello."

"Hello, sweetie. Boy, you look pretty today," Harry said. Hermione smiled and looked down. Periwinkle blouse, grey skirt, hair down and pulled over to the side, nothing special.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"I don't know, you look happy and happy equals beautiful, at least on you," he said. "Also, that outfit is very pretty on you."

Hermione hugged him and from behind her she heard, "I have to agree, Potter, but I think she looks beautiful everyday."

Hermione would not let her smile turn to a frown. She turned in Harry's arms, and said to Malfoy, "What a surprise to see you here. Actually, it's not a surprise, as you seem to be everywhere." She turned back to Harry and said, "How about lunch, my handsome friend? On me?"

Draco leaned forward, put his chin on her shoulder and as she turned to look at him he said, "I would eat on you any day. Oh, and Potter's right, you look exceptionally beautiful today, that outfit is very fetching."

She wanted to say it so badly. She wanted to say, 'you know what, Malfoy, I really do hate you', but she had decided she wasn't going down that road again. Hearing Harry snicker as he walked away, did not help her any. He called out, "I'll talk to you at lunch, Hermione!"

Draco still had his front very close to her back. She pondered what to do and what to say. He finally broke the silence by saying, "Did you get your present?"

She whipped around and asked, "My present?"

"I left it with your little, what is he, intimate male friend, gentleman caller, escort, gigolo, paid suitor, pseudo boyfriend, significant other." Before he could say another synonym, Hermione put her hand on his mouth, to shut him up.

She lowered her hand and said, "I get it, you gave it to Anthony. Fine. Goodbye, Draco."

She started down the hallway and he grabbed her elbow. "Why did you just call me Draco?"

She looked at him oddly and said, "It's your name. Are you delirious today?"

"I know my name, but you don't call me Draco. It's unnerving, and I'm not sure I like it," he frowned. She actually smiled. An almost evil smile. He added, "Hey, your little smirk could almost rival my own. You like that you caused me distress by calling me Draco. Next thing you'll say is that you no longer hate me."

"Well, actually," she began.

His brows knitted and he pushed her through the closest door. It was a broom closet. He shut the door and said, "Don't you dare try to tell me that you no longer hate me!"

"If I knew my not hating you would cause you this much discomfort, I would have stopped hating you a long time ago. But don't fear, I still dislike you, I dislike you immensely, and it's just that last night when I was thinking about you in bed, I decided that I no longer hated you."

Draco, the bastard, got a dastardly look on his face, and he took a step closer. "You were thinking about me in bed? Were your hands above or below the covers?"

"You're a sick pervert, and it wasn't like that. I just decided that hate was a wasted emotion, and I do not want to waste anything on you, not even my time, so if you would excuse me, I have to get to work. Move aside, Malfoy."

"Draco," he corrected.

"I've decided to go back to Malfoy," she said.

He smiled, his mouth coming up on one side and said, "Draco. Say it with me, Miss Granger. Draco. You move your mouth like this," and he slowly said his name, "Draco," ending his mouth in a small 'o' along with the 'o' of his name. His face was right next to hers.

She felt extremely uneasy. "Please, get out of my way," she said.

"Let me know if you like my present. I'll be at my office," he said. He opened the door, and right outside was a reporter and a photographer from the Daily Prophet.

And of course, Hermione, who looked down at her clothes as he opened the door, and straightened her skirt, (wondering why both Harry and Draco complimented her today), looked up just as the photographer took their picture.

Draco smiled and put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Get another one, this is my good side." The photograph obliged. He looked at Hermione and said, "Don't worry about your clothes. You got them back on just fine."

Hermione was incensed. She pushed him away and the reporter said, "Was that a special private broom closet meeting you were having, or is there something our readers should know?"

Draco said, "Our private lives are not on trial here. All that is important are the issues."

Hermione wanted to vomit.

She pushed past all three and went to her office.

She saw a brown paper package, tied with a ribbon. It must be her 'present'. She opened it and screamed! She ran from her office to Anthony's office. He was in the middle of a conference with two other members of her campaign team. She threw the package on his desk and asked, "What is this?"

"The guidelines for your debate with Draco Malfoy. It's being hosted by the Daily Prophet, and it's in two days," he said calmly. He continued to talk to the other two wizards in the room. Hermione slammed her hands on his desk. He looked right up at her.

"I told him I wasn't debating him!" she yelled.

"Well, I told him you would. It's important. You want to win, don't you, Hermione? Well, this will help us, I mean, you, accomplish that. You know you will chew him up and spit him out. Why are you so concerned?"

"Gentlemen, please leave us alone for a moment," she asked. They left and Hermione said, "Anthony, he is setting the terms, don't you see that? He's going to use this to his advantage. Why, just now he planted a photographer and a reporter outside a broom closet, and when we exited, they thought we were snogging."

Anthony laughed and joined her on the other side of the desk. "Are you cheating on me, Hermione? A broom closet. I could never even get you to snog me in kitchen."

"Anthony!" she said, slapping his chest. She laughed. "I am serious; I don't want to do this."

"Too bad, it is in two days, and I have our team working on answers to the reporter's questions and the rebuttals right now. You may write your own speech. Be ready. I have a full docket today, so I can't go to lunch," he said, apparently dismissing her.

"I'm going to lunch with Harry, anyway." She turned to leave his office. Anthony had better be right. This better turn positive, or she would make both Anthony Goldstein and Draco Malfoy very sorry, yes indeed.

She went to her office and started to look over the papers in the package. Then she thought of how close she was to him in the broom closet. It reminded her of what happened right after graduation, which she was sure he did not remember, since he did not remember ruining her speech.

She put her head on her desk, and shut her eyes, and tried hard not to relive that particular memory, but powerless not to.

(_Flashback)___

_Draco just asked Hermione to join him getting drunk. When she asked him why in the world she would want to join him, when he had just ruined her speech and her gradation, and oh, yes, by the way, she hated him, when he said, "I know you do, and to answer your other question, Granger, as to why I would want you to join me, well, I wanted you to join me because I love you. I really do." Hermione looked up at him suddenly, but he was already gone.___

_She stood out in the alley and tried to come to reason with what he had just said to her. Why would he say that he loved her? They didn't have a friendly relationship. They hardly ever saw each other. He was just drunk, that was what it was.___

_She decided not to go back inside, not yet. She had a lot to think about, not to mention the fact that she was sorry that she gave up her speech for him. She wasn't sure she should blame him. He did not force her to help him. It was her fault. She wondered if graduation was over, yet. She had just decided to walk back in the back doors, when she saw Draco stumble back in the alley. ___

_She looked up at him and he leaned against the wall. Should she talk to him? Should she hit him? Should she help him home? She did not know what to do. He looked at her, she would almost say, wontedly, and then he asked, "Do you really hate me, Granger?"___

_"Oh, Draco," she said. "Go sober up, please." She opened the door and went back in to salvage what she could of her graduation.___

_The ceremony was over. She walked down off the stage, and her family and friends were waiting for her. They bombarded her with questions, and she finally just said that she was sick, and that was why she could not make the speech. Anthony handed her diploma to her. She smiled and said thank you. She felt so overwhelmingly sad, but there was nothing she could do about it.___

_The whole gang went out to eat, Anthony's treat, of course. He always liked to flaunt his money, just a bit. They went to an upscale magical restaurant, in the heart of Diagon Alley. There were many graduates there, also apparently celebrating. Hermione began to feel better about the whole day.___

_Her parents presented her with a set of keys for graduation, which belonged not only to a brand new car, but also to a small cottage. She hopped up and down in her seat, and then went and kissed them both! Harry and Ron gave her a set of Magical law books and she was so happy she smiled widely!___

_The Weasley's gave her a photograph of the Burrow, with the whole family in front, her included. She was so touched she almost cried. Anthony was last. He gave her a set of diamond earrings. She was speechless. As her loved ones and her continued to celebrate, the champagne flowing freely, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. On her way back to her table, she noticed Draco Malfoy, at a corner table, with his parents. They also were having dinner, although it looked like a sorry excuse for a celebration. Hermione surmised it was his graduation dinner, although none of them looked remotely happy or overjoyed. Hermione could not help it, she had to go over there, and she did not know why.___

_She plucked up all her Gryffindor courage and made her way to their table. Draco noticed her first. He straightened up in his seat. Mrs. Malfoy looked her way next, joined by her husband's steady stare.___

_"Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy, hello. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm Hermione Granger, and I graduated with Draco today," she said, her heart fluttering a thousand beats per second.___

_Mr. Malfoy stood, and took her hand. "Of course we remember you, Miss. Granger. Congratulations on your graduation. We understand you made top spot. Your family must be happy. We would have liked to have been there today, but Draco neglected to tell us about graduation, and we only found out at the last minute."___

_Hermione found that information troubling, and yet, she was curious as to why. She said, "Well, it was nice to see you again. Goodbye." She looked right at Draco. He seemed angry.___

_She headed toward the bathrooms, even though she had just come from that way. He caught up with her, swept her into the men's room, and shut and locked the door.___

_"What was that about, Granger?" he asked.___

_"To be truthful, I wanted to make sure you were alright," she said honestly. "Why didn't you tell your parents about graduation?"___

_"It didn't dawn on me to tell them," he said, suddenly bored.___

_"Are you sober now?" she asked.___

_"As sober as you, I would assume," he said. "You looked like you got quite a few little presents today. I saw that your boyfriend gave you something small in a black box. Are wedding bells imminent?"___

_She had to laugh and said, "Heavens, no, we just graduated. We have our whole lives ahead of us. We both have to be settled, get jobs, you know. No, not marriage, not yet. They were just diamond earrings."___

_"May I see them?" he asked. She had them in her purse, so she took them out and showed them to him.___

_He opened the lid and touched the diamonds. They were rather expensive looking. He always hated that damn former Ravenclaw, Goldstein. Draco handed them back to her and said, "If you were my girl, I would give you grey pearls and sapphires. If you were my girl."___

_"I like these, they're pretty." She looked at the earrings again, and then put them back in her purse. When she looked up, he was right in front of her.___

_"They pale in comparison to you, Granger." He smiled. ___

_She stared at him. Her mouth started to form words, but she was speechless. First, he told her he loved her, and then, he told her, more or less, that she was pretty. ___

_"I have to get back," Hermione said, pointing toward the locked door.___

_"May I be permitted to give you a graduation present, first?" he asked.___

_"You already tried that, with the rose, and that didn't turn out so well, did it?" she said. She backed up to the door.___

_"Why are you like this, Granger?" he asked, mocking what she once said to him.___

_"How am I?" she asked, with only curiosity in her voice, no anger.___

_"You make me feel….hell, I don't know. It doesn't matter, you hate me," he said. "Anyway, let me give you your present now."___

_With Hermione still pressed up against the door, he stepped closer, so he was a hairsbreadth away. He reached in his coat pocket. She looked down at his hand. He brought his closed fist out of his pocket. She continued to stare at it, closely. He brought it in front of her face. She looked in awe. He put it right under her nose, and leaned as close as he could, without actually touching her. He opened his hand slowly, his finger unrolling a mere millimeter at a time. She leaned closer. He did as well. Finally, his hand opened, he swiftly placed it on her cheek, pulled her closer, and kissed her just as swiftly on her lips. His lips felt soft and warm against hers. The pressure was there one second, and gone the next. She put her fingertips lightly to her lips. She could not breathe, let alone speak.___

_He smiled, maybe the first genuine smile she had ever seen from him, for as long as she had known him. He opened the door, which she was still leaning against, and as he pulled it opened, she had no choice but to move with it. He walked out, and she continued to lean back against the men's room door, mortified and shocked beyond compare._

(Present Day)

Hermione wondered if he remembered that kiss. Apparently she did. That was so long ago. If he did not remember ruining her graduation, he probably did not remember that. It was probably not even a blip on his radar. It was just a small, innocent kiss, nothing special. In fact, she hardly recalled the incident, now that she reflected on it.

She hated Draco Malfoy. She hung her head and felt like crying, and she did not know why.

Later that day, when most of the Ministry officials had gone home, Hermione Granger was still in her office. She had painstakingly gone through the entire package with the outline and guidelines for the debate. She had started her speech, and had gone over the list of answers and questions that her staff had given her. She was tired. She was also anxious. She did not want to participate in this debate. Maybe she should concede, and just let Malfoy win the damn election.

Hermione was on her way out of the Ministry, when, heaven help her, Draco Malfoy was in the lobby talking to a flock of reporters. What was he even doing here? He did not work at the Ministry! She turned to head back to the lifts and he said, "There's my opponent now!" She turned slowly, as the flock of reports descending on her. She had no choice but to head toward the lobby.

The reporters started asking about the debate. Draco answered most of the questions. They asked her about her donation to St. Mungo's, and asked her if she did it because Draco did. She took a deep breath, and felt defeated before she could even answer. He looked at her, and grinned. He wondered how she would answer that one, himself.

"It's a worthy cause, and no matter who thought of it first, the war orphans will benefit from the donation," she said, diplomatically.

Draco thought, 'boy, she's good.'

"What about the report that you and Mr. Malfoy were in a closet today, doing inappropriate things?" the female reporter from earlier asked.

Draco started to answer, but Hermione said, "There was no impropriety today. Mr. Mafloy and I had gone to a private spot to discuss some matters dealing with the debate. That's all. I'm sorry if that's not the dirt you all want, but I only know how to tell the truth, so if you want a lie, Mr. Malfoy should answer your questions. If you want the truth, come to me, now, I must be going back up to my office. Thank you all." She smiled and walked back to the lifts.

Draco smiled as well. He knew long ago not to underestimate Hermione Granger! That was a bloody brilliant answer!

He answered a few more questions and then headed up to her office.

He found her with her head on her desk, her arms down to her sides. She was a sight. She knew it was he before he said anything. "Have they gone, for I really want to go home?"

"Yes, they're all gone," Draco said. She looked up.

"What was that? Why were they down there, and also, why are you here all the time?" she asked.

"I want to familiarize myself with my new place of employment. I'll soon be working here you know," he said. She rolled her eyes. He added, "You can keep your job, as my undersecretary, with a salary cut, of course."

She shook her head and said, "You are impossible. I have to go home now. Show yourself out, no, on second thought; show yourself down an elevator shaft." She stood and started past him.

When she reached the door, he said, "Tell me what you meant the other night, when you said I ruined your graduation."

"Don't you remember getting drunk?" she asked. She turned to look at him.

"I recall that."

"Do you remember me taking you to the alley?" she asked.

"Slightly," he answered.

"I was supposed to give a speech, Malfoy. You caused me to miss that, and I missed getting my diploma. It was bad enough that I missed out graduating from Hogwarts, but to miss my college graduation, because you were drunk, well, that was too much."

"Is that why you hate me?" he asked sincerely.

"I hated you before that," she said honestly. "Well, disliked you before that."

"I didn't recall that you hadn't given your speech yet. I really didn't know that. I recall the rest. However, that was a long time ago, time to give up the past, Granger. The future awaits you. A future of perhaps waiting tables, cleaning houses, whatever it is you will do when I beat your arse," he said, with a grin.

She shook her head again. "See, just when I think you're being a human being, you morph back into Draco Malfoy." She opened the door to her office and he blocked her path.

"I do remember something from that day," he said.

She said, with almost no emotion, "Do tell."

"I remember this," he said, as his head descended toward hers. She was so shocked that her feet felt rooted to the floor. He put his hands on her cheeks, and he kissed her, so soft and so sweet, that she thought it was a dream. He brought his head up as the blinding light of a flashbulb caused spots to explode in her eyes.

Draco twisted around, saw the same photographer and reporter from earlier, and then he turned and saw Hermione, who looked close to tears.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. I do believe we will have our front page story for tomorrow's prophet," the young reporter said. She motioned at the photographer to join her as they walked down the hall.

Draco turned slowly back to Hermione. She had a look of utter horror on her face. "I've amended my previous statement. I no longer just dislike you. If you think I will debate you now, after this debacle, then you are sorely mistaken. Why do you have to play dirty? Are you afraid you cannot win an honest race? I really do hate you, Malfoy."

She did not yell or scream. She did not cry or rant. She said it softly, but with more emotion than he had ever seen from her, and what was more, for the first time in their lives, he believed her. She walked down the hall, toward the lifts, and as she walked out of sight, he said, to himself, "I would hate me too, Granger."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – Draco tries to Give Hermione Some Pictures:**  
  
(Present Day)

Unlike yesterday morning, when Hermione walked into the Ministry with a spring in her step and a happy-go-lucky attitude, this morning she felt much, much different. She felt like there was a big black cloud over her head, with grey eyes and blonde hair. As she walked into the Ministry, amid questioning stares and accusations, she had to ask herself one question, was any of this worth it?

As she got on the lifts, she realized that no one was really staring at her any differently than normal, but she was sure as soon as she hit her floor, the onslaught would begin.

She exited the lifts, and fine, no one was being unkind or judging her. People said hello, some merely smiled, but still, she was sure deep in their hearts they held nothing but contempt for her, because she was caught fraternizing with the enemy.

She had just reached her office, and had sat down, when Anthony came in and threw the morning edition of the Daily Prophet on her desk. Okay, here it comes.

"Would you like to explain the front page story, Hermione?" Anthony asked.

"I know, I know, please, don't ask me about it," she said, as she hung her head in shame.

"I mean, brilliant, Hermione." Anthony seemed to beam. She looked up. He picked up the paper and said, "The polls shows we're ahead, not by a big lead, but ahead, and that little impromptu press conference of Malfoy's backfired on him yesterday. The paper is calling you 'Honest Hermione'. Why, you're the darling of the hour. Brilliant!" He smiled at her, patted her arm, and left her office.

She picked up the paper and was confused. Where was the story about her and Malfoy in the broom closet? Where was the embarrassing picture of their ever so brief kiss? She searched the next page, and the next, and still, no picture, no article. What gives? This was a quandary, which she needed to solve.

She went to Anthony's office and placed the paper on his desk. He said to his staff members, "There's the girl of the hour. Bravo, Hermione, the way you turned around the whole St. Mungo's war orphan donation. The article says that they know Malfoy's camp stole the idea from you, and yet they praised you for not calling him out on it. They said, and I quote, 'that if we want a gracious, honest, caring, Minister for the people, we should all elect Hermione J. Granger,' end quote! That's as good as an endorsement."

Hermione grabbed the paper again. "Give me that paper." She had not read the article. She had just looked for those embarrassing pictures. Hermione had no idea what was going on, but she was ever so thankful.

"Have you finished your speech?" Anthony asked.

"Almost," she answered, still reading.

He took the paper from her and said, "Go home, work on your speech, the debate is tomorrow night!"

"Don't remind me, and I can work just as easily here. I have some real work to do, also," she reminded.

"Your only work is to make sure your speech is spot on," Anthony reminded. "Here," ge said, handing her a folder, "we all worked on your answers to the questions and on your rebuttal responses. Take them home and commit them to memory. Be sure to owl me your speech later, so I can make any changes I deem necessary." Anthony began to usher her out of his office.

Once in the hall she said, "You want this more than I do, perhaps you should be the one running."

"I thought of it, but it's too late now, and in the beginning, they weren't going to hold an election, and then Malfoy had to throw his hat in the ring. Anyway, with you winning, it will feel like a win for me."

"I won't be your puppet, you know," she said, pointing her finger at him. "You know, I don't really want the post," she finally admitted aloud.

"How can you say that!" he asked, outraged. "Don't let anyone hear that. You're just nervous about the debate, which I still don't understand. Everything will turn out great. Now go home, work on your speech, eat some sweets, and you'll be right at rain."

"Don't talk down to me in a condescending manner, Anthony Goldstein!" she said.

"Oh, Hermione," he said. "Get your act together, and remember that quitters never prosper." He turned around, walked in his office, and shut the door. She turned toward his closed door and stuck out her tongue.

"Is that for me?" Draco Malfoy asked, as he came up beside her.

"No, I was sticking my tongue out at Anthony," she explained. Now that she did, she felt stupid.

"Oh, your little pretend boyfriend has you all hot and bothered, huh? There's a broom closet over there, I could take care of the problem," he said, as he leaned toward her. She put both hands on his chest, to push him away. He grabbed her wrists, but let them go suddenly.

"He's not 'pretend', Malfoy," she finally said.

"Well, I know he's a real person, Granger," he said with ultimate disregard, "but I also know he's not your boyfriend, not any longer. I wonder how the press would like to hear about Honest Hermione's fake boyfriend."

Her eyes narrowed and she said, "I don't know where you get your facts, Malfoy."

She was slightly worried, especially when he said, "Go on and pretend. It will only help my cause, not yours. By the way, I have a true purpose for coming today. Shall we go to your office, and talk?"

"No, I was going home," she said, walking toward the lifts.

"Short work day, Granger?" he asked, looking at his watch. "If you become Minister, you will have to put in longer than a thirty minute work day, you realize."

She walked on the lift and he followed. "What do you want?" It just dawned on her that this might have to do with the pictures.

The lifts were crowded, so he came to stand behind her, which unnerved her to no end. He moved her hair away from her ear with his index finger, making her flinch as he touched the skin on her neck. "I have another present for you." She turned to say something, but was jostled by incoming riders, so that she was pressed into his chest, facing him. He smiled; she swore an evil smile, and said, "Although I shouldn't give you anything, as I am beginning to think our relationship is one sided."

As more people came on the elevator, she found herself unable to turn around, and they were now in the corner. She looked up at him, and she felt his arm wrap around her waist. She felt her neck flush, which by this time was traveling to her face. "Since we don't have a relationship, I don't think it's one-sided at all," she said. She pushed against him with her hands and then looked back up and said softly, but with intent, "and your present better not be a kiss."

She was recalling the memory of the bathroom incident after graduation, when he said he had a present for her and then he kissed her. He remembered that too. "Ah, Graduation, no, this is a real present."

The doors opened, and everyone walked out but them. She looked at the number on the lift. Thank the stars, the lobby was next. She moved to the middle of the lift. He moved to stand right next to her, and said, "Why would I want to kiss you anyway? There's no one to take a picture of us."

She whipped around and said, "AH HA! I knew that was staged!"

He laughed as the doors opened and exited before she could. Once in the hallway, he turned and retrieved a package from his jacket pocket. He handed it to her. She opened it and inside was the pictures. The first one was of the kiss, and the other two were from the broom closet incident.

"I like the second one, I look better," he said, pointing to one of the pictures.

She asked, confused, "How did you get these?"

"I have my evil ways," he stated.

"No doubt, but why are you giving them to me?" She suddenly thought that these pictures in the hands of Draco Malfoy were ten times worse than being published on the front page of the prophet. She frowned, and in doing so, his smile swept off his face as well.

"What's wrong, Granger? Can you no longer form coherent speech? Have you lost the ability to talk? Did your tongue fall out from sticking it out at people too, much? You could say, Thank you," he said.

She pulled on his sleeve, to pull him toward the wall, and she said quietly, "What were you planning on doing with these?"

He truly looked puzzled and said, "I just did what I was planning. I gave them to you."

"But what else?" she asked.

He looked angry and said, "Why must you always think the worst of me? You have gotten into that very bad habit. Fine, so I'm normally a bastard, but even bastards have a heart sometimes." She cocked her head to the side, and saw he seemed honest, so she was about to apologize when he said, "Of course, I did make copies for myself, but just for my own personal use. I will only use your picture to wank off, I promise."

"OH, you are a…a…oh!" She pushed him hard and said, "For the briefest of moments I thought your intentions were honourable!"

"Yes, yes, honourable. It's an honour to wank off to your picture, Granger," he smirked. "Seriously, I give these to you freely, and if you want to believe I will still blackmail you with them, believe what you may. I have learned long ago that I cannot change your bad feelings toward me, so I shall not even try. This is the part where you say, 'you know what, Malfoy, I hate you, I really, really do'."

"Here, take your pictures, I don't want them. I don't care what you do with them, but if you wank off to them, I hope your penis falls off." She took the pictures and put them back in his jacket pocket.

He laughed as her hand went in his pocket and he said, "Watch your hand, Granger, or you might accidentally knock my penis off."

"I do hate you," she said.

"Yes, as I always say, I know you do, sweetheart, but for once in your life you have misjudged me, no, on second thought, not once, this is the second time when you have severely wounded my pride with false accusations. My intent was admirable, so take the pictures," he said.

"I don't want to. I'm going home to work on my stupid speech for our stupid debate. Goodbye, Malfoy. Have fun wanking off to my picture, for that's the only way you will ever derive joy of that type from me." She turned around and flooed home.

She went home and changed into her most comfortable jeans, grey sweatshirt, and some trainers. She worked on her speech for two hours, before she gave it up. She went to sit in her rocking chair, by the front window, and looked outside. The cold winter would soon turn to spring, and Hermione could not wait. As she daydreamed, she thought over what Malfoy had said. Usually, she gave people the benefit of the doubt, but with him, she was always quick to judge, but not without merit. He had shown his true character, time and time again, while growing up. She had eighteen years to formulate an opinion on him and his character, and it was hard to change it now.

How dare he say she was rash to judge him so harshly? It was not rash; it was from years of mental abuse at his hand. He said it was the second time she had misjudged his intentions. His words hung heavy in the air. What was the first? Surely, he could not be thinking of that first day at Uni. Of course, that was what he was thinking, for he said almost the exact same thing to her then. She recalled it clearly.

_flashback:___

_It was the first day at Uni. Harry and Ron were in Auror training at the Ministry, so she was alone. She recognized a few people in the halls, but not many. She went to her first class, which was held in a large classroom. The tables were already mostly full. She saw an empty seat, next to a blond girl, near the back. She walked over to the table, excused herself, and asked if she could sit down. The girl nodded and smiled. As she sat down, she put her bag on the back of the chair. She turned slightly in her seat, and directly behind her, at the last table, was Draco Malfoy. He had his feet up on the table, and had laughed loudly at something some girl beside him had said. She tried to turn around hurriedly, hoping he had not seen her, but she was too late. He turned and looked right at her. "Hello, Granger."___

_She turned around in her seat without speaking. As the professor passed out the syllabus, Draco started to bang on the back of her chair legs with his feet. Bang, Bang, Bang. Hermione tried hard to ignore him, but soon she turned around and said, "Do you mind?"___

_"Do I mind that you are a lowly Mudblood, daring to speak to me? No, I don't mind," he said.___

_The girl next to him must have taken offense at that word, because she stood up and went to another table.___

_Hermione turned back around, and wanted to cry.___

_The professor started his lecture, and before she knew what was happening, Malfoy was leaning over the blond girl, and had whispered in her ear. Then, the girl smiled, held out her hand, and Malfoy deposited ten galleons on her palm.___

_The girl rose from her seat, and Draco sat down next to Hermione. Hermione could not believe this was happening to her.___

_She tried to take notes, but he kept bothering her. He kept scooting his chair closer to her, and as she was by the wall as it was, she had nowhere to go.___

_Then, he took her parchment right out from under her hand. When she looked over at him, he smiled. Smiled! He wrote something on the parchment, and handed it back. ___

_He wrote, "About calling you Mudblood, force of habit, sorry."___

_'Was that an apology?' she thought. He put his arm on the back of her chair. She looked at him and said, "Don't ruin this class for me."___

_He softly said, "Must you always think the worst of me? I apologized, didn't I? I assure you, I have nothing but good intentions."___

_She turned back to face the professor. She put her quill in the inkwell, and was about to write more notes when she felt his hand move from the back of the chair, to her back. She felt her muscles instinctively clench. He felt it too, for he let out a silent little laugh. He removed his hand just as quickly as he put it there. When she thought she could finally relax again, he put it back.___

_This time, his thumb started moving up and down on her back. Just his thumb. Instead of her back muscles clenching, she clenched her legs tightly together. What was that about, she wondered? She hoped he was not aware of that.___

_He wasn't. She turned and gave him a scathing look, but he was glaring at the teacher thoughtfully. He looked over at her and whispered, "You best pay attention, Granger, if you want to do well." Then he winked at her. He kept his hand on her back during the whole class, and she did nothing at all about it.___

_After a very awkward class, he stopped her by the door. There was a long line behind her, trying to exit, but it was apparent he was not going to move from the door, until she spoke to him. Finally, she moved to the side, to let their classmates exit. He moved aside as well. That left only the two of them in the classroom.___

_Hermione tried her best not to look too annoyed, because she knew he would revel in that. She said, "What do you want?"___

_"Fancy meeting you here, in this class, Granger." He started walking toward her. She stood her ground. When they were nose to nose he said, "Where are your boyfriends?"___

_"Auror training," she answered.___

_"You're all alone at University? How quaint. You won't know how to act without them by your side, will you?" He took a quick look around the room, she assumed to make sure they were alone, and he put his hand up and touched her shoulder. That made her step back. He let his hand drop.___

_Hermione plucked up her courage and said, "Listen, Malfoy, I might have been more inclined to have a pleasant little talk with you, if you hadn't called me Mudblood earlier, but as it is, we both know we aren't friends, so please, desist from bothering me, and especially touching me, again."___

_"Oh, that old word," Malfoy said. "It doesn't really pack the wallop it used to, does it? If anything, it's my own special form of endearment to you."___

_"Well, keep it to yourself, or I shall report you to the Dean's office. Won't you ever change, Malfoy?"___

_"Why should I change? You'll never be my friend anyway," he said, with a slight smile.___

_"That's true; I would sooner be friends with a rattlesnake. They are less poisonous, and their bite hurts less as well," she remarked.___

_He leaned forward and said, "Like I said, you only do yourself an injustice by judging me, Hermione." He leered at her, and reached out and brushed his knuckles down her face. "Why didn't I ever call you that before? Hermione. It really is a lovely sounding name, much better than Mudblood." He laughed and walked out of the classroom.___

_She went right to the Dean's office and changed her class schedule, so she was not in any of his classes._

(Present Day)

Hermione shut her eyes, and rocked back and forth in her chair. She did rush to judge him, but she knew her opinion of him was just. He earned her indignation with every turn of the page, and every ounce of contention she felt was justified. Why then, did she feel so guilty? Why was she wasting so much time and energy on Draco Malfoy? Why was thinking of him making her so tired and so exhausted, and dare she say it, so excited?

Nevertheless, the most important question was, why did she see him outside her front door, getting ready to knock on it any second?


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 ****–**** Hermione hides when Draco Knocks:**

(Present Day)

She felt as if she was caught doing something wrong, (daydreaming about Draco Malfoy), when she saw him coming up to her door, so she panicked.

Knock.

The first thing she noticed was the fact that she had on an old sweatshirt, and holey jeans. She heard the first knock and she froze in her spot. She had the urge to hide. She leaned against the wall, beside the door, flat against the wall, and held her breath. 'Go away, please,' she thought.

Knock.

She looked down again, why did she have to put on this sweatshirt? It was Anthony's old sweatshirt, the last time she wore it she painted her bathroom, yellow to be exact, and most of the paint was still on one of the sleeve.

Knock.

She resisted the urge to scream. She shut her eyes tight, clenched her fists, and willed him to leave.

Knock.

She ducked down, and sat on the floor. That was when she noticed the hole in her jeans, right on the knee, the denim all torn and frayed.

No knock.

She exhaled the breath she was holding. She stood up to look out the front window, and as her head rounded the corner, she saw his face, pressed against the glass. "Hey, Granger!"

"AAAYYYEEE!!!" she screamed! She jumped up and down, her hands shaking in front of her. She moved back to her hiding place by the door.

He knocked on the window.

She did not know what to do. Once her heart came back to the required 72 beats per minute, she decided to go for broke, and answer the door. She put her chain on the door, even though he was a wizard, surely, he would respect a chain, and she opened her door a crack.

"What is it, Malfoy? You scared me," she said.

"Apparently," he laughed. "Hey, open up. I refuse to talk to you through a crack in the door."

"That suits me just fine, go away then," she said. She started to shut the door, but she saw him withdraw his wand, and vanish the chain.

"Hey…" she started.

He opened the door and walked in. "Who would that chain really keep out, Granger? Wizards could do what I just did, and Muggles could kick the damn thing open. Silly woman," he said. He came in and sat on her couch.

"Well, do make yourself at home," she said sarcastically.

"This is a nice little, and that it the operative word, little, home," he said. She came to sit next to him. He eyed her outfit and said, "Gee, Granger, you didn't have to get all dressed up for me."

She looked like she was in literal pain. She shut her eyes, swallowed hard, and her hands shook. "I will not kill him, I will not cause him pain, I will not maim him, I will not castrate." She rocked back and forth, chanting these words.

He looked disturbed, because she looked disturbed. "Granger, are you on any medication that the voters should know about?" he asked.

She slumped back against the sofa pillows, rubbed her temples, and said, "I think I give up. Tell me why you're here."

"I want to discuss our debate, and I want to give you another chance to be a human being, and take these pictures from me," he said, reaching into his jacket and withdrawing the pictures.

She reached over for the pictures, and he snatched her wrist with his free hand. "But as I tried to explain earlier, there is a price to pay."

"I knew it! Get your greasy claws off me, Caligula!" She wrenched her wrist from his hand and stood up.

"Listen, we'll discuss the pictures in a minute," he said, throwing them on her coffee table. "At the moment, I really do want to discuss the debate."

She eyed her speech, and so did he. He bent down and picked it up. He started to read it and she reached for it, but he stood up. He continued reading and she continued to reach around his body for it. "Good point, there, Granger," he laughed. He turned his back to her, and continued reading. She reached around the other side.

"Oh, you are a riot, if you think that!" he said at another part of her speech. She reached around the other side. He jumped up on her couch and said, "The reporters will have a field day with that last part." She jumped up as well. She jumped on the pillows, but he held the speech high above her head. They both bounced on her couch. She finally gave up and sat down. She turned her head from him.

"Keep jumping, Malfoy. Maybe you'll break your leg, and then we won't have to have the debate," she said. She crossed her legs on the couch, and hung her head, her chin resting on one hand. He sat on the back of her sofa, and truly continued to read her speech.

She knew the whole debate would not turn out well. He would antagonize her somehow, and she would make a fool of herself. She looked over at his leg, in his impeccable wool trousers, and thought, just a little break. Nothing too severe. Nothing that would permanently maim him. No, that was more than she could hope for, but a girl could dream.

He sat down on the pillows beside her, very close, and threw the speech next to the pictures. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"I'm dreaming up ways to maim you," she admitted.

"Ah, I see," he said.

"You really are a smarmy bastard, you know?" she said simply.

"I've been called worse, and I've been called better, so smarmy bastard I think I can live with," he remarked.

The truth was that her admission, that she was thinking of him, took him by surprised. She really was honest. She really did tell the truth. Maybe she really meant it all those times she said she hated him.

"So, tell me, how would you maim me, to cancel the debate," he asked.

She turned to him, and her eyes seemed to brighten. He couldn't help but smile. Just the thought of causing him pain lightened her mood, and he admired that. His smile caused her to blush.

"Oh, you don't want to hear my fantasies," she said, looking away from him.

"Sure I do, you little sycophantic daydreamer. Just tell me at least one," he said.

"Well, understand this, I would hurt myself instead of you, if I thought it would get you to cancel, but you're not that gallant, and the thought of hurting you is so much more enjoyable, and don't you dare say anything about S&M. It is nothing like that. I would get no sexual satisfaction from your pain. It would merely make me happy. The thought that causing you pain makes me happy does concern me a bit," she stated.

"I would expect it to," he agreed.

"Oh, but the end results would be so wonderful. Maybe you could sit back up on the back of the couch, and I could push you off," she said.

"We could try that. Do you have stairs, stairs would work," he said.

"Damn, it's a one story house," she said.

He was sure she was not being truthful, but to find out, for certain, he said, "Tell you what; this might all be connected to what I want to talk with you about, and you might get away without causing me too much pain. So before you go off half cocked, wait, let us not talk about cock while you're thinking of ways to hurt me. Let's rephrase; before you do something rash, hear me out."

She smiled and said, "I might not have the physical or mental fortitude to hear you out. Visions of hurting you are dancing around my head as we speak, but fine, talk quickly, before I change my mind."

"Are you bluffing?" he asked.

"Call my bluff, if I am," she said lightly. She turned on the couch to face him. He winked.

"That's the spirit. Now, the way I see it, you really don't want to do this speech, although I don't for the life of me know why, since you have been carrying bad feelings for me for six years because I kept you from a speech once." She started to interrupt, but he put his hand on her mouth. He removed it and continued. "I am not talking about blackmail, although, if you refuse, the pictures will stay in my possession, but my possession only, and if you don't do what I request, the debate will go on as planned, but if you agree to my terms, we will work something out, but of course, it's a two way street. You scratch my back, and I scratch yours. You give me something I want, and I give you something back."

He almost gleamed at her.

"I'm listening," she said. She was always quick to judge, she realized that now, but she also highly doubted that her poor judgment of him at this moment was wrong. She just knew deep in her heart that he was going to request something awful.

He moved closer to her. She put her hand out, as if to stop him. He put her hand on his chest, and kept his hand on top. She could no longer concentrate. Hermione blinked twice and said, "Go on." She wanted to say, 'let go of my hand', but felt powerless to do so.

"Okay, pictures and no debate for you, and you only have to do one little tiny thing for me, so little, you will hardly even realize it is happening, so unimportant, you will forget about it almost as soon as it happens, and more importantly, its completely and utterly painless, but very enjoyable. Something that is so insignificant you will wonder why you didn't think of it first."

"My goodness, Malfoy, what are you asking for, sex?' she said. She laughed and snorted. His mouth formed a thin line, and a grin graced his lips. The grin went from his lips to his eyes. Her eyes grew wide and she withdrew her hand. "Are you bloody insane!" she screeched. She stood up and pointed toward her door. "Get out of my house, you sick, depraved man! I am not some prostitute in which you can pay and get favours. You really do think lowly of me, don't you?"

She was very outraged. How dare he think that?

"Then I shall eviscerate you on the debate floor, Granger, and enjoy every minute of it, and in the long run, I will still have the pictures, and I will still win the race."

Maybe she did hate him. At that moment, she thought she might really hate him. She was having a bit of a lark earlier with him, but right now, she hated him and merely telling him that would not be good enough. No, she would have to show him, perhaps by really breaking his leg. No, she would not. She would not stoop to that level.

"Still thinking of ways to maim me?" he asked.

"No, we have definitely moved maiming up to murder," she replied. She went to her front door, opened it and said, "Leave my house. I will see you at the debate."

"Fine, but before I go, may I ask one more thing?" he asked.

She could not make eye contact. She looked right past him toward the outdoors, and nodded. Suddenly, her errant eyes filled with tears, but angry tears, not sad tears, but he would never know the difference, and she would never tell.

He hated that he had caused her to tear up. He put his hand on the door, above hers and said, "Why do you want to be Minister, really?"

She looked right at him. "I want to make a difference. I want to do some good. I don't want just to talk about changes; I want to make them happen. It's not that I particularly like politics, and if I could accomplish these things without the position, I would, but I cannot. I've tried," she answered, another tear running down her cheek. She hated that she couldn't keep her emotions at bay. He didn't want her to hex him, but he reached up and captured the second tear with his index finger.

"I was joking about the sex thing. It's fun, and incredibly easy, to torment you, you know. But I do it with the utmost affection." He looked at the floor for a moment; he was caught off guard by his own honesty. "I know how much you hate me. I know you do. You have said it enough, and I have enough sense to know that you never say what you do not mean, and that you're honest as the day is long. Moreover, I understand that I have earned that hate. I have. But the thing I came here to ask today, is, not will you sleep with me, but, will you please never say that to me again?"

She turned to look at him. A tear was close to falling off her face, when he once again touched it with his fingertip. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I know it sound less exciting than the sex request, but that was what I truly wanted to ask you."

"Why does it matter what I say or do, Malfoy? Why do you care if I hate you or not? And, what I said the other day is the truth. While you make me angrier than anyone I have ever known, and most of the time I find you utterly despicable, I really do not hate you. So, take your pictures, and get ready for the debate, because if that was what you wanted, for me to stop hating you, well, you now know it is a disputable point. I don't hate you."

"But you say it enough," he said.

"Well, in the same vein, you constantly tell me you love me, and that's not true, so don't you think me saying that I hate you might be folly as well," she asked.

He pushed her away from the door with one hand on her shoulder. She was shocked. He slammed her door shut with his foot and pressed her against the wall. He was not touching her anywhere, but his closeness was disarming. He placed his hands on each side of her face, framing it lightly in their embrace. He leaned closer and said, "Don't talk about me as if you know me, Granger. If I say I love you, maybe I do, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

"When did you fall in love with me? You've disliked me all my life. You only say you love me to get under my skin and to negate my pleas of hate toward you," she said rationally.

"Oh really?" he said. "I can tell you the exact moment, date and time when I knew that I loved you, Granger."

(_Flashback)___

_Hermione was in her second year at college and she was loving every minute of it. It was even better than Hogwarts. She didn't see her friends as much as she would have liked and she had not made that many close friends in the last year and a half, but she was dating a boy who used to be in Ravenclaw while she was in school, Anthony Goldstein. That was nice.___

_He was thoughtful, smart, and good-looking. He challenged her mind and her opinions, and she liked him a lot. It wasn't love, not yet, but people don't fall in love right away in real life, only in romance stories.___

_She had a favourite study spot at the campus, and when weather permitted, she would find that spot and stay there all day. It was by a large yew tree. The long flat needles of this magnificent pine cushioned the earth around it, and the low-lying branches protected her from other people, so it was perfect in everyway. Yes, the little red berries were known to be poisonous, but she just liked to rest there, she didn't eat the darn thing.___

_She was approaching her tree, when she saw a pair of decidedly male legs sticking out from the trunk. As she got closer, she saw arms and a torso. Closer still, she saw the whole person. Draco Malfoy. She had only limited contact with him in the last year and a half, ever since that first day.___

_They had no more than five classes together in the past, and he always kept his distance. He smiled at her once, said pardon twice, thank you three times, and touched the small of her back to usher her out the doorway once, when the door bunched up with the crowd leaving the classroom.___

_And that was it.___

_Why was he under her tree? First, the tree didn't really belong to her, so she would look the fool if she said, 'get away from my tree'. He could sit there if he wanted. She turned to walk away, and he said, "Did you need something, Granger?"___

_She turned back, and he was still reading. He hadn't even lifted his head. When she didn't say anything at all, he looked back up. "Well?"___

_"No, I was just coming by this tree to study, but I see it's being used by someone else, so I'll find another spot."___

_"It's a big tree, and I'm almost done," he said. He went back to his book. She came over hesitantly, and sat down on the other side of the tree. She had never sat on this side. The tree trunk didn't fit her back quite as nicely over here, but it would have to do. She put her books around her and he said, "I hear you are dating Goldstein."___

_"Yes," she said. Good thing he couldn't see her expression. She looked confused. She said, "I hear you got accepted to study next semester in Paris. That should be nice."___

_"I suppose. My parents are happy about it at least," he said.___

_"You have to have the grades for that, so they should be," she said. She began to read. She opened her bag to find a quill. She could not find one. He heard her rummage through her bag.___

_"What are you doing?" he asked.___

_"I need a quill," she said simply.___

_She felt the feather part of a quill touch her cheek. She shivered and looked over surprised. He was leaning over, and when she turned her head toward him, he said, "Quill." She took it from him and nodded her head in thanks.___

_"Goodbye, Granger, I'll let you study in peace," he said. He stood up and walked over to her. "Why don't you move over to this side, it's very comfortable."___

_She smiled and gathered her things. She stood up and said, "I don't mind if I do, thanks." He picked up her bag as she got her books. She said, "I'll get your quill back to you." ___

_They stood facing each other and he laughed and said, "It's a bloody quill, Granger. They might cost half of your weekly stipend, but I can afford to give you a quill."___

_She smiled. She didn't take the bait. She actually thought it was somewhat funny, so she smiled. She sat down in her spot and said, "Well, thanks again for the quill and the spot, and have a nice time in Paris, Draco." She looked back down at her book, and he walked away._

(Present Day)

He reminded her of that story and she said, "I hardly recall that and yet you say that's when you fell in love?" She was confused.

"No, that's not when I fell in love, I probably fell in love long before that, but I was too stupid to know what it was, but that was the exact moment when I KNEW for certain that I was in love with you," he clarified.

She relaxed her stance, but as he was still very close, she was still breathing hard. She said, "Malfoy, you don't love me. You cannot love me. You think because I didn't say I hated you at that moment, and because I called you 'Draco', instead of 'Malfoy', that it was love, but love isn't one sided. In fact, that is the definition of unrequited. It is borderline disturbing."

"You tell yourself that, Granger, if it makes you feel better," he said. He was so close that the warmth of his body caused her to flush.

She looked down, and as her eyes cast down, she saw his hand come up to her face. Her eyes came back to his as his hand apprehensively came up to cup her cheek.

"May I try an experiment? It shall be a part of our bargain. If I feel, after my experiment, that you have anything but loathing for me, the pictures are yours, and my leg, at least for purposes of canceling the debate, is broken," he said.

She could only nod. She felt queasy. What had she just agreed to do?

Her stomach clenched and her mouth became dry as his right hand on her cheek moved slightly to her neck. His thumb was still on her cheek, moving lightly back and forth. His left hand came up to her shoulder, and moved down the paint-splattered sleeve of her sweatshirt. He took the remaining step necessary to close the gap.

She closed her eyes.

He brought his lips to hers. Unlike the previous kisses, which were sweet, but quick, this one was already longer than its counterparts, and he had yet to do anything but apply pressure. Her head moved slowly to rest against the wall, as his lips began to move on top of hers.

With his right hand still on her neck, his left hand moved down and rested on her waist, bringing her slightly closer. She tilted her head, out of instinct, and he became more adventuresome. He sucked lightly on her bottom lip, playing with it, tugging on it, his tongue came out quickly to touch her still closed mouth, and then it was over.

Once she could breathe again, she opened her eyes. No words passed, no smiles exchanged. He stepped backwards, their gazes still locked. He opened her door, and she remained planted on the wall. He turned back to her and said, "No need to keep working on your speech. I have a feeling the debate will be canceled due to some misfortune that is about to befall me." He started out the door, only to turn back.

She remained guarded, but still pressed against the wall as he walked back in, went over to her coffee table, and looked at the pictures. He threw two of them back on the table, and pocketed the third. He came back to the door and said, "I really do like this one." He touched her lips with his thumb, smiled and walked out the door.

She reached out with her hand, slowly shut her door, and slid down the wall to think, because she had a lot of thinking to do.

Oh, goodness, Hermione Granger did not hate Draco Malfoy, not in any way, shape, or form!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 – Hermione and Draco See a Play**

(Present Day)

Hermione was in the bath mulling over the events of the afternoon. Did she really kiss Draco Malfoy? Not just a harmless, peck, like their previous kisses, but real-life, toe curling, tingling in your tummy, heart pumping, shoulder holding, mind-boggling…kiss.

A kiss right there in her very own living room. While it was not a deep, passionate, 'how do you do', kiss, it was still incredible, and it happened just three hours ago. Hermione ducked her head underwater. Maybe when she came back up, her world would be turned back the right side up.

She got out of the tub, toweled off, and put on her cotton terrycloth robe. While she was drying her hair, she heard Anthony calling her name.

"Hermione? Are you home?" he yelled.

"In the loo!" she yelled back.

"I got Chinese food, I'll lay out the plates," he shouted.

Frankly, Hermione was not in the mood for Anthony, but a girl had to eat, and he had food, so she would make him feel welcomed, at least until after dinner.

She walked in the kitchen as he was pouring them some wine and he said, "Well, I have some good news and some bad news, do you want to hear them?"

"Sure," she said, her mouth full of noodles.

"Bad news is that you wasted your whole day writing a speech for nothing, though maybe we could save it for later, but Malfoy's camp called me this afternoon and cancelled the debate," Anthony stated.

Hermione sucked in air, in surprise, forgetting that she had a mouth full of noodles. She started to cough, gag and sputter. Anthony stood up and started to bang on her back. She hit his hand away and took a drink. Did he really cancel? Did that mean he got the answer he was looking for earlier? Hermione was not sure their kiss was her agreement not to tell him she hated him again. Did he want something else now?

She shook her head and said, "Why?"

"Something about falling off the back of the couch, and breaking a leg, although I highly doubt that explanation. I say he's running scare, don't you?" Anthony said, spooning rice on his plate.

Hermione took another drink. A long drink. "Maybe," she answered.

Hermione barely had time to process all of this when Anthony said, "Do you want to hear the good news?"

Hermione thought the canceling of the debate was the good news, but of course, Anthony would not have thought so, so she said, "Sure."

"Your vocabulary is lacking today," Anthony reproached. "Since I've been here, you've said, 'sure' twice, 'why' once and 'maybe' once."

"I said, 'in the loo', once, too. Now tell me the good news," Hermione said, regaining her faculties.

"Oh, right, nearly forgot," Anthony said. He stood up and withdrew a small package from his pocket. It looked like the package that Draco left here with their pictures. She wanted to run to the living room to see if they were still on the coffee table, when she remembered that she had already put them under her mattress. He opened the envelope and withdrew two tickets. "Tickets to that play you wanted to see, the one about the Founders of Hogwarts."

Hermione gasped, stood up, and grabbed them from him. "Anthony, you are so sweet, I wanted to see that so badly. I thought you said they were sold out!" She eyed the tickets and sat back down.

"They were. They are. Malfoy's campaign manager sent them over. It's Malfoy's way of apologizing for canceling the debate," he said. Hermione was still squirming in delight in her seat. Anthony said, "I knew this would make you happy, and we can use this to our advantage, because there will be plenty of press there tonight."

"Tonight?" Hermione asked. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was 5:22 pm. The performance started at 7:30 pm. "Anthony, that doesn't give me much time."

"Well, go get ready now, and try to look pretty for the press," he said, standing and clearing their plates.

"You better go get ready, too," Hermione said.

"Oh, I'm not going," he said. He took the tickets back from her, looked at them both, and then handed one back to her. "Here, this is your ticket, and this one is being given to charity. I arranged it as soon as the fellow brought them over today. This one is front row center, so it's quite a find, I tell you."

"What ticket did you leave me, back row, far left?" Hermione asked, the disgust in her voice evident.

"Top box, my fine friend," he said, patting her cheek.

"Top box?" she asked confused. She looked at the ticket. "ANTHONY GOLDSTEIN!" she yelled. "This says it's for Malfoy's private box!"

"Exactly, and that's better than a debate. The two candidates, out together, photo ops, sound bites, yes, this will all work in our favour. Now, his box is private, so the press won't be able to see you once you're there, so make yourself available before the show, after, and during intermission. Mingle. Go get ready, Hermione," he said.

"I'm not going," she said, slamming the ticket on the table.

Anthony picked the ticket up and said, "Come on, Hermione, don't you realize how much this could help our campaign. I hate to tell you this, but you two are running neck and neck, and we need something good to happen, or that ferret will be elected Minister, and who knows what will happen to our world. It's a sad day when a Death Eater can beat out a war hero."

"Anthony, he was never really a Death Eater," she said softly.

"Maybe, but you were my little war hero," he said. He kissed her cheek. "Now, a car will come to pick you up in an hour and a half. Please, tell me that you're going."

He started to leave, and she followed him to the door. She said, "Hey, Anthony, do you know what I think would be even better publicity? If I took the front row center ticket, and we gave the top box to the charity. Just think of it. That would be better, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe for Malfoy, but how would that be better for us? It would look like he gave the ticket away," Anthony frowned.

"Well he did," she reasoned.

He shook his head and said, "Leave the strategizing to me. I'll talk to you tomorrow, well, no; I'm going out of town tomorrow, until Monday. So, I'll see you when I get back," he said.

"Anthony?" she called out again.

He sighed and turned back around. "What, Hermione?"

"Could we change the ticket to Friday night's performance, instead of tonight?" She was grasping for straws.

He walked up to her, took the 'front row center' ticket out of his pocket, and said, "It clearly says it's for Thursday's performance. Yours says the same. Now, I'm leaving." He walked out to her porch and disapparated away.

Hermione knew why she and Anthony were 'off' again. He was a glowing hot pile of shite!

She slammed her door and huffed to her room. She threw open her closet, and searched for the right outfit to wear.

(_Flashback)_

_Hermione Granger was peering up at the bulletin board at school. She was in her last year of college, and she was required to take an internship. She wanted one at the Ministry, but looking over the openings, she saw they were quite scarce. She knew she could get the Dean's recommendation, and the current Minister of Magic was none other than her old friend Percy Weasley, so surely one of the slots would be hers. She pulled down a pamphlet, and stuffed it in her purse._

_"There's an opening at Malfoy Global International," said a male's voice behind her. She turned around. "Hello, Granger, how have you been?"_

_"Well, Draco Malfoy. I haven't seen you in a while," she said._

_"That's true, it seems two semesters in Paris turned into two years, but I'm back for my fourth year. Getting ready for your internship?" he asked._

_She was shocked he was being so pleasant. Perhaps Paris agreed with him. He looked handsome, although Hermione decided to scold herself later for even thinking that thought. "Yes, I'm hoping for an internship at the Ministry," she said._

_"Well, if anyone gets one there, it will be you. Do you have hopes of a political future?" he asked._

_"Heavens no, after college I hope to make a difference, do some good, and I'm not sure that can happen from inside the government," she said._

_He regarded her for a moment, and then expelled a small laugh and smiled. "Too, true, Granger. Oh, by the way, do you have that quill I loaned you a while back?"_

_She looked confused for a moment, but when she finally realized what he meant, she said, "That was ages ago. It's long gone; I hope you weren't too attached."_

_"Well, since you stole my heart, I mean, my quill, perhaps you could make it up to me," he said._

_She heard his slip of the tongue, if that was indeed what it was. She said, "How? I could buy you a new quill."_

_"How could I ask you to part with your life savings like that," he said, clicking his tongue in false scorn. "Tsk, tsk. No, how about some coffee and a scone?"_

_"I have to meet my boyfriend for tea," she said._

_"Still with Goldstein, I presume?" he asked._

_"Why would you assume that?" she asked._

_"Am I wrong?" he questioned back._

_"No, I mean, you aren't wrong, and yes, I am still with him, but why did you assume that?" she asked, for she really wanted to know._

_"You just seem like the type that when she finds the right man, she sticks with him," he said. "Loyalty isn't just a word to someone like you; it's a way of life."_

_"You make that sound like a bad thing," she said._

_"It's a boring thing, but perhaps not bad," he said. "I just find it ironic that you talk of saving the world in one breath, and in the next you almost tell me you're ready to settle down."_

_Hermione puckered her mouth and said, "I'm confused as to what led you to either of your conclusions, but one, Anthony and I are certainly not ready to settle down, not now, maybe not ever, and second, people can be in love, have a relationship, and save the world if they want. I can do anything I set my mind to, Malfoy. Nice to have you back, I almost forgot how irritating you were. Good day."_

_He grabbed her elbow and said, "The coffee shop is this way, and it has lovely scones."__  
_

(Present Day)

The driver pulled up to the theatre and asked Hermione if she wanted him to let her off at the red carpet, or drive around to the back entrance, where she could enter unnoticed.

That would irritate Anthony to no end. She really should enter on the red carpet. She should. However, she was not going to do that. "Please drive around back," she said.

She would make a public appearance at the end. Not everything was about the election. She had wanted to see this play since she had heard about it. She had always been fascinated with the founding of Hogwarts. She was dropped off around the back of the theatre. The driver got out and opened the door for her. She was ushered in the back door, and a very nice wizard showed her through a web of hallways toward a set of stairs, which was lit only by candlelight.

"The top box, miss," he smiled.

He handed her a program. She smiled and wearily climbed the stairs. She opened the door, and Draco Malfoy stood right inside the door and smiled.

"How is the broken leg?" Hermione asked.

"Mending, and by the way, I didn't say it was my broken leg," he said. "One of my staff members was more than happy to take one for the team." He approached her slowly.

"You broke a person's leg to cancel the debate?" she asked, shocked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I did, because everyone knows that I never lie," he said with a small grin.

"Oh," she responded. "Let me get something straight, before the evening starts, you said if I stopped saying I hate you, you would cancel the debate, and when I DIDN'T agree to that, you still cancelled?"

He nodded, and smiled widely.

She bit her bottom lip. "Why?" She frowned with annoyance.

"You answered my question and agreed to my terms, you silly goose," he said. He took her quiet indignation at his response as an opening to look at her appearance. She had on a deep burgundy gown, and her hair was up on top of her head. He said, "I bet the photographers took plenty of pictures of you, because you look half-way decent tonight."

"Half-way decent?" she marveled, "Will wonders never cease; I look half-way decent. A girl cannot have so many compliments, Malfoy. My head might get as large as yours."

He laughed and said, "Shall we sit?" He motioned toward the seats with his hand. When she did not move, he leaned closer and said, "Fine, you look breathtaking."

Suddenly her chest felt tight again, and her lips tingled. What was wrong with her? He held out his hand. She looked at is pensively. She touched her fingertips to his, and felt an electrical charge. He pulled on her hand slightly, guiding her around his front. He put his hand on her back, to guide her further into the little room. He nodded toward a seat. The box only had four, two in front, and two in back. He nodded to the front left seat, which would put her on his right. She sat down, his left hand moving from her back to her shoulder as she sat. He crossed in front of her, his fingertips leaving her skin with goose bumps as they ceased contact. She shivered. He leaned down, and with his soft breath blowing on her cheek, he said, "Shall I cast a warming charm over the box?"

She had a feeling she would be warm soon enough. She blinked twice and shook her head no. He sat in the seat to her left.

"Is anyone else joining us?" she asked.

"No," he said, fiddling with the collar of his dress robes.

"Why did you only give us one ticket to the top box, if there were three empty seats?" she asked.

"Oh, does your fake boyfriend object to front row center. That's a very coveted seat, you know," he said, making fun.

"He gave that seat away, some publicity thing," she said. "Although, I almost took that seat, and had him give this one away."

"But he wouldn't do it, correct?" he asked. When she did not respond, he said, "Why do you two continue to pretend you're an item, when you aren't?"

She shrugged. She really did not know what to say to him. It sounded harsh to say it was all for the campaign. It felt wrong, and dirty somehow, to continue to deceive the public. She was glad Draco knew. She didn't know how he knew, but she was glad that he did.

The play started, and they both relaxed in their seats. A few times Draco leaned over and made comments about the production. She was not so enthralled with the performance that she didn't notice his proximity to her; the way he would put his hand on her arm when he made a comment. The way the little hairs on the back of her neck would stand up when he spoke to her in low tones, and always too close.

The way he laughed at a funny part, she did as well, and they turned to look at each other at the same time. The way he took his index finger and drew it down her bare arm, and caused her to shudder, and shake. When he did that little action, she could not ignore it. She turned to look at him in the darken theatre. He was staring right at her.

"Did you want something?" she asked quietly.

He expelled the breath he was holding. He brought his right index finger back up her arm, with a lighter touch than when it went down her arm, and then he placed his hand behind her neck. His fingers played with the little hairs that hung down from her perfectly coifed hair. "Yes, I want something," he answered.

"There are no photographers here," she said. As soon as she said that, she knew he would take that as permission to continue, and she was suddenly excited by that prospect.

He leaned closer to her, and with the hand on her neck, he brought her closer. His nose touched her cheek, and then slid down to her jaw line. She wanted to melt. She could not even breathe. His nose skimmed her cheek again, and when she felt his lips gliding across her skin, she gasped. He was not really kissing her, more like 'tasting' her. She felt very helpless. Her hands clutched the program. He started to kiss her jaw, down to her chin, back up her jaw, and to her neck, below her ear. He shifted in his seat so he was facing her. She remained facing the stage.

His right hand remained on her neck, but he situated it more on the long column, above her collarbone. With his left hand, he reached down to take one of her hands off the program, so he could hold it. She honestly thought his light caresses and gentle kisses were the most romantic thing that had ever happened to her. She couldn't help but close her eyes. The hand that held hers came up to her face, and with both hands now on her face, he turned her to look at him. She opened her eyes.

"You no longer hate me, do you, Granger?" he asked with a deep voice and a serious tone.

"Just because I don't hate you, doesn't mean that I will suddenly declare my love, off the cuff, like you do to me. I'm not like that. I cannot tell you I had an epiphany, and that I'll suddenly have an 'I have always loved him moment', because I haven't. I'm sorry," she said. She put her hands up to his, and removed them from her face, but kept them in her grasp.

"Draco, I don't think you really love me, because although we've known each other for a very long time, you don't really know me. You cannot really love someone you don't know. You may lust after me, obsess after me, desire me, be infatuated with me, but you can't love me until you really know me."

She expected him to be angry at her speech, but he seemed more amused. "I only asked you if you no longer hated me, Hermione. I don't expect love, at least not yet. Maybe after the election and I'm the new Minister of Magic, you might love me."

She could not help but smile. She let go of his hands and said, "And maybe when I'm the new Minister of Magic, you might decide you no longer love me."

"When pigs fly," he commented.

"Is that in reference to my becoming Minister, or the fact that you'll stop loving me?" she asked.

"You know, with magic, pigs really could fly," was his response.

That statement bemused her, and he laughed at her confused expression. He took her left hand in his right hand and said, "Honestly, you are being very disrespectful. There are people down there trying hard to put on a pleasant performance and you aren't paying the slightest bit of attention. I don't know about you, but I really wanted to see this play."

"I wanted to see it, also. You kissed me," she accused.

"Sh," he hushed her.

She continued to stare at him, as he stared straight ahead with a smirk on his face. His thumb rubbed back and forth along the top of her hand. She liked that, she really did.


	8. Current Poll ResultsActual

_(Author's note: I am sorry that the poll results do not equal 100 percent. I explained once that I was taking the actual numbers from the voting, and displaying the information. The results below are copied verbatim from the polls. I do not understand why it does not equal 100 percent, but maybe there is a margin of error, as most polls have. Anyway, if the fact that this does not add up to 100 Percent bothers everyone, I will stop posting the actual numbers and just tell you who is ahead. Thanks!)_

Hermione Granger

65 votes » 53 percent

Draco Malfoy

57 votes » 46 percent

Unique Voters:

122

The next chapter will be posted soon!


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Draco and Hermione get Caught Kissing:**

(Present Day)

At intermission, Draco let go of Hermione's hand. It was the first time he had released his hold on it since the kiss at the start of the production. He said, "Should we show ourselves, get some refreshments, or stay put?"

"I did promise Anthony that I would make myself known," she said regrettably.

"Then we should stay put," he smiled. "Seriously, he's the world's biggest git, isn't he?"

Hermione could not help but laugh and she said, "Coming from the world's biggest prat. They say it takes one to know one."

"I suppose it does," he offered, not offended. "I'll go get us some refreshments. You stay put, Hermione. I mean it, don't move a muscle." He stood up and touched her arm lightly. "I beg you to stay." He smiled a sly smile and winked.

"Well, when you beg," she began.

"See, I knew you were secretly into domination," he joked, "making me beg and all." He left to get their refreshments.

_(Flashback)___

_Draco led Hermione by the elbow, from the student hall, to a courtyard in the center of the grounds of the University. He led her to a campus teashop, and opened the door. She did not know why she was following him so willingly; perhaps it had to do with the smile that graced his face since she saw him standing there by the bulletin board. She could not remember the last time she saw him smile so much.___

_With his hand on her back, he guided her to a chair. "I beg you to stay put, Granger. I shall bring you some coffee and scones."___

_"I'd rather have tea," she remarked.___

_He leaned down on the table, both hands flat against the smooth surface, his face but a fraction from hers and he said, "Is this to be one of our famous sparing matches? Have you missed me so much these past two years that you must show me how much you missed me by contradicting everything I say? If I offered you tea, would you have wanted coffee?" ___

_She had to laugh. She put her hands over her face and said, "You know what, Malfoy, I think I would have."___

_He sighed, smiled, and walked off to get her tea. She looked out the window and saw Anthony walking by. She knew she should tap on the window, call out to him, anything, to tell him where she was, since she was to meet him, but dammit, she really did not want to. She would rather have tea with Draco, and she wasn't sure why.___

_Draco came back carrying a tray with two cups of coffee, two cups of tea, two glasses of pumpkin juice, two glasses of ice water, and scones.___

_"Invite the whole school to tea, did you, Malfoy?" she asked.___

_"I only want to make you happy, Miss Granger," he said as he lowered the tray to the table. She reached for a tea, he for a coffee, and he pushed the tray over to the side. ___

_"How was Paris?" she asked.___

_"Have you ever been?" he asked back.___

_"A few times, holiday and all," she answered.___

_"It's a wonderful city," he said. She nodded in agreement. She reached for the sugar at the same time he did. Their fingers brushed ever so lightly, and she withdrew her hand quickly. He pushed the sugar toward her, indicating that she should go first. She reached back for it again, self-conscious of his touch. He said, "It was very nice. We have family there, and the University is wonderful. I met a wonderful woman there. We became engaged," he offered.___

_She looked down at her tea. When she looked back, he was looking down. "Oh, what is her name?" she asked.___

_"Lydia," was all he said.___

_"Where is she now?" Hermione asked. She suddenly had the urge to run out of the teashop, and she was not sure why.___

_He said, "Let me see your hands, Granger."___

_She put some sugar in her tea, and then held up her hands, palm side toward Draco.___

_He shook his head and said, "No, put them flat in front of you on the table, palms down."___

_"Why?" she wondered. She also wondered what this had to do with where this Lydia person was now.___

_"Is this the part where we fight?" he asked.___

_"This is the part where I wonder what I'm doing here with you," she said, but she still put her hands on the table.___

_He put his hands on top of both of hers. His hands were larger than hers were, so they encompassed them completely. He then picked them up from the table and held them in his own. As much as she wanted to ask him what he was doing, she just as much wanted him never to let go, and that bothered her. ___

_He said, "See, warm hands, warm heart, that's you, Granger. You are just too caring. You assume everyone else is as well. Just because you have the capability to love and perhaps marry someday, doesn't mean we all do." He let go of her hands and she withdrew them quickly and put them back on her lap. "And to answer your question, as to where Lydia is, hell if I know," he said. "I said we became engaged, not that we were still."___

_"Did you break her heart very badly?" Hermione asked, leaning forward, her eyes bright, hands in lap, trying to make light of his announcement. ___

_"Oh, no, I'm afraid it was my heart that was broken, but long before I met her; a fact she became aware of, so she kicked my sorry arse to the curb," he said, leaning toward her across the table. He did not look worse for wear.___

_Hermione knew she probably did not want to know the answer to this question, but she was going to ask anyway. She decided to tread lightly, though, in case the answer was as she suspected. "Who broke your heart, Malfoy?"___

_"Hermione, there you are," Anthony said. She turned toward the doorway, and saw Anthony. Draco leaned away and swore under his breath. Hermione looked quickly to Draco and then back to Anthony. "Weren't we to meet?" Anthony asked.___

_"Yes, well, Draco Malfoy just got back from studying abroad for two years, and he asked me to tea, and I thought I would have time before I was to meet you, sorry," she said. She stood up and said, "Thanks for tea, and coffee, and pumpkin juice, and water, and scones." She smiled so brightly that Draco either wanted to kiss her or hit Goldstein. He wasn't sure which.___

_Anthony did not even say hello to Draco. He took Hermione's hand and started out the door. When they reached the threshold, she turned back toward Draco and waved. Then she was gone._

(Present Day)

Draco ran back in the box, and said, "HIDE!"

What did he say? Before she could ask him, he threw his cloak over her head. She started to protest, but he lifted her from her seat, cloak still over her head, and led her to the corner behind the door.

Just then, the door opened.

"Mr. Mafloy, you promised me an interview tonight, if I gave you those pictures back, and yet you ran away from me down in the lobby," a young woman said. Hermione cringed inside. It was the reporter who caught them in the broom closet, and who had caught them kissing later the same day.

"Miss Madison, I will give you an interview, I promise, but not tonight," he said, "I made you no promise that it would be tonight."

He stayed in the doorway and she said, "I had a reliable source tell me that Miss Granger was coming tonight as well, and my source also told me she would be sharing your box with you. Now, I find it interesting that at first you are sharing a broom closet, then a kiss, and now a top box. Don't you find that interesting? I think our readers, and your constituents, would find it interesting."

"Well, she was supposed to come tonight, but she got hung up somewhere. Maybe when she was getting ready her hairbrush got stuck in that hair of hers," he laughed.

"Are you sure she's not here?" the young woman asked, as she tried to look around his shoulder. He held the door open for her, but didn't allow her entrance.

"See, no Hermione Granger," he said. "Your source must not have been too damn reliable. You should find new sources."

"It was her boyfriend who told us," she said. "Well, maybe she did change her mind. You promise you will let me get a quote from you on tonight's performance before you leave?"

"You will be the first person I seek," he said before he smiled. He took her hand and kissed it lightly.

He shut the door, and turned to Hermione. She still had his cloak on her head. He laughed and pulled it off slowly. "Your boyfriend sold you out, Granger," he said, as he threw his cloak across the back of one of the chair.

"My hair brush got stuck in my hair?" she asked, with anger. She would deal with Anthony later; she wanted to deal with Malfoy now.

"Well look at it, it's a sight," he said. He reached up and pulled out a jeweled hairpin, which was hanging by a few strands.

"It's a sight because you threw a cloak over it," she said. She reached up and pulled out more of the pins. He reached up and helped. She deposited the pins in his outstretched hand. When all the pins were in his hand, she shook out her hair. He put the pins in his pocket. She went over to her seat and grabbed her purse. She took out a mirror and said, "My poor hair looked good tonight, too." She tried to smooth it down.

He came up behind her, a fact she knew before he spoke, because the hairs on her arms stood up, and he put his left hand up in her hair, threading his hand in its long length. His right hand came around to her neck. She leaned her head back on his chest. Her eyes, brown and doe like, looked up at him indolently.

He said, "I like it down, like this. This must be what it looks like when you wake up in the morning, all tousled and flowing. Or perhaps, how it looks after sex."

"Malfoy," she started to scold. His mouth came to her cheek, before she could remember what she was going to say. She tried to gather her wits, when his fingers closed around her hair tightly, near the nape of her neck. His other hand brought her face to his, and he nuzzled her hair. She froze, as his mouth moved toward hers. It dawned on her that they had yet to share a deep kiss, one involving tongues, hands roaming bodies, moans uttered, breathing stopped.

Was it coming now?

Her answer came when he said, "Give me your lips, Hermione. I need to kiss you, now."

Her pulse raced as she turned in his arms to face him. His lips came to hers, and as his lips touched hers, she heard him moan. The kiss started like the others, sweet and simple. They kissed as if they were a couple on their first date, but all of that was about to change. His arms held her so tightly, that she could not remember ever feeling so safe.

Her hands went to his hair, it felt like silk. His tongue explored her tongue and her teeth. His mouth was moist and hot against hers, and she craved more. She sighed and felt weak in the knees. It was a good thing he was holding her so tight, because she temporarily forgot how to stand upright. Her fingers went from his silky hair to his neck, and then to his chest.

The kiss was far from over, at least as far as he was concerned.

His hands moved from her waist; one went to her upper back to press her closer, and the other came around to rest on her shoulder. He wanted to touch her breast so badly that it caused him to ache, but he did not want to scare her off, he had waited too long for this moment to ruin it now.

His mouth finally left her mouth, but not her body. His mouth traveled down her neck, to her collarbone. Her exposed flesh was beckoning to him, to taste it, to feel it, to lavish it with warmth and love. He had to oblige. He had no choice. His mouth went to her shoulder, and he bit her lightly.

When she made a small sound, like the coo of a dove, he lost himself. He reached both hands up to her face, and looked at her so intently, that at first, he scared her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What are you doing?" she asked. He saw the fear on her face. He brought her back to him in a rush of emotions. Her hands clutched his shoulders. The house lights went black, and the play began again, but they were ignorant to all that surrounded them.

He licked the sensitive skin of her neck. He said, "Hermione, you are a witch."

"Yes," was all she said, for that much was true. She arched against his body, his mouth continued on her neck and shoulders. His hands stroked her bare back, and she threw her head back. He sought her mouth once more, and this time, she did not care, she wanted him.

Neither heard the door open. Neither heard a small cough. However, they both heard a voice say, "Maybe we can work out an exclusive interview with both of you."

They both turned to see the same reporter. She smiled. Then she laughed. She said. "I'll be waiting outside the theatre for you both. Oh, and Mr. Malfoy, you were right when you told me yesterday that you would make it worth my while to give you those pictures, and come here tonight. You were so, so right." She shut the door.

Hermione sat in his previous chair, put her hands on her face and rocked slowly back and forth. "Oh no, oh no," she uttered.

Draco paced the small confined area. What was he going to do now?

"What did you do?" she asked.

He hissed, "I didn't do anything, Granger. I gave that girl 2000 galleons for the pictures, and I promised her an exclusive interview. I told her to meet me here tonight. That was before I knew we were going to cancel the debate and before I knew I would invite you here. I swear that's the truth."

She picked up her purse, smoothed down her hair, and said, "Because we all know you never lie, as you admitted yourself."

"I'm not lying, now. I didn't set you up," he said.

"I don't know what's going on with me. How can I give up everything that Anthony and I have worked so hard for, because of you?" she asked. She started toward the door.

"See, there's the rub, Granger," he said, sitting back down and crossing his legs. He suddenly looked smug.

"Excuse me," she asked.

"You probably won't remember this, but years ago, back in school, I asked you if you wanted to get into politics someday, and you said no. You said you couldn't do any good in the world of politics, and that what you wanted more than anything, was to do good for our world. Were you lying then, or lying now, Honest Hermione?"

"How dare you question my intentions, my integrity, and my honesty. Why did you enter this race?" she asked.

He stood up and softly said, "I can't believe you are that dense. You have to see why. You have to. You have to know my reasoning."

"I don't know of what you are referring," she lied. She had a feeling she knew why. She was afraid to admit it.

"Don't close your eyes to what's staring you right in the face, Granger. Goodness, woman, open your heart, and you'll see the answers," he said.

"Are you a greeting card author now? That's rubbish, and you know it. I have to go, I have to talk to Anthony and see what we can do about this mess." She turned to leave again. He grabbed her wrist.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked. He did not seem angry, if anything, he seemed slightly peeved.

"What?" she asked, still shaking with anger.

"You're supposed to say, 'I hate you Malfoy, I really, really do'," he said, smirking.

She took a step closer to him and said, "That's the irony in all of this, I don't think I ever did." She went out to the landing, and said, "I don't hate you, Malfoy, and I probably never will," and she apparated home.

He sat down and decided he had to think of a new response, if that was what she was going to start saying to him. Damn her.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 ****–**** Hermione and Draco go to a Restaurant**:  
  
(Present Day)

Hermione undressed quickly and picked up her hairbrush. She started to brush her hair and she said aloud, "My brush doesn't get caught in my hair!" She threw the brush across the room.

She should not blame Draco for what happened between them tonight, for she was as much at fault as he was. He probably didn't know the reporter was out there, but in the back of her mind, she still thought he was capable of something like that. She still didn't fully trust him.

Nevertheless, wow, that kiss was amazing.

She looked at her reflection, pointed at herself and said, "You've got it bad, girl."

She went to crawl into bed and she knew she was too keyed up to sleep. She had flooed Anthony as soon as she got home, but he was already gone for the weekend. There was a Wizard Summit in Northern England, which he had to go to for work. She had forgotten about his trip. She should have known he would have alerted the press that she would be at the theatre. She should have just come in the front entrance, given the photographers and the reporters some of her time and attention, and maybe this wouldn't have happened. In a way, it was all her fault.

She plumped up her pillow and decided to try to get some sleep.

_(Flashback)___

_Hermione found herself sitting all alone, in a corner of the library, and she was coughing. She had a very bad cold, she felt like shite, but she also had a lot of work to do. This was her last year at school, and she had to do well. She wanted top spot. If she was to be number one, she had to work hard.___

_When she entered the library, she saw Draco Malfoy walk into one of the other buildings. She had not really seen him in two months, since the teashop. They did not have classes together, this being their last year and all. They both lived off campus. There was no reason to see each other.___

_She and Anthony had just broken up, again. She hated that it was a week before Christmas, her parents were overseas, and she would be alone. She thought she should be mourning the loss of a boyfriend, more than mourning the loss of a companion for Christmas, but there you are, she wasn't mourning the loss of Anthony because he wasn't the love of her life.___

_That made her think of what Draco Malfoy had told her. He said she was the type to fall in love forever. She thought so too, it's just that her 'forever' was not Anthony Goldstein. She really hoped that they would not get back together this time, because she had a funny feeling if they did, she would be 'stuck' with him forever.___

_She shivered and sniffled. She felt horrid. She couldn't believe she would be alone AND sick for Christmas. Her throat hurt and she had a headache, too. She closed her book and put her head down on the table. The next thing she knew, she felt a hand on her back.___

_"Are you okay?" Malfoy asked.___

_"No," she said in a weak, pitiful voice.___

_He sat down beside her, his hand rubbing her back. He had a bad habit of doing that, she thought, but once again, she was not going to ask him to stop. It felt good. It felt comforting. "What's wrong?"___

_"I'm sick and alone," she said. She always got a bit weepy and melodramatic when she was sick.___

_She heard him chuckle, so she looked up and said, "My illness makes you laugh? Thanks, Malfoy." She gathered up her books and stood to leave. He stood as well. ___

_"Have you seen the school's Medi-witch?" he asked.___

_"No, it's just a cold," she said.___

_"Well, you do look pretty bad," he said. Hermione frowned at him and then turned to walk out of the library.___

_"Great, it's snowing. Now I'm sick, alone, I look bad, and it's snowing," she concluded to herself.___

_"Here, Granger, let me get your things," he offered. He took her book bag and swung it over his shoulder with his. "Why don't you go to the Medi-witch? I'll walk along with you to make sure you get there safely."___

_She looked up at him and said, "How tall are you?"___

_"Pretty tall, why, do you want to ride on my shoulders?" He didn't know what that had to do with anything, but he would humour her.___

_"I don't know, you look tall, that's all," she said with her hoarse voice. She started coughing as the wind and snow hit her in the face. She was convinced it hit her harder than it did anyone else. She turned to look at him again, her toe caught on a piece of uneven payment, and she tripped. He dropped their bags and reached down for her. She sat down on the ground and looked at her bloody knee.___

_"That will teach you to wear skirts in the winter," he said. "Here, shall I carry you? I won't put you on my shoulders."___

_"Are you insane?" she asked. "Hey Malfoy, why are you being so nice to me?"___

_"I thought you were going to ask my weight now or something. As to why I'm being so nice, well, am I being nice?" he asked. He pulled her up and picked up their bags.___

_"I think you are," she said softly. She turned and said, "May I have my bag. I'm going to apparate home and go to bed."___

_He handed her bag to her and she started coughing. She couldn't stop. She couldn't apparate. She looked back at him, and he had his head cocked to one side, and an amused look on his face. She pouted a bit. He said, "The Medi-witch is this way." He pointed down the sidewalk. He took her bag from her again, took her wrist, and led the way. She had no choice but to follow._

(Present Day)

Hermione had a terrible day at work. She could not concentrate, she had just given two interviews, she didn't get her point across in either, and she knew she was going to have to face Draco eventually, and knowing him, he would probably poke his head in her office right about now.

"Hey, Granger," Draco said, poking his head in her office.

She sat upright and shook her head. "My psychic ability amazes even me!" she exclaimed. Maybe she _was_ a psychic now.

"Good to know," he answered back, puzzled.

"What do you want?" she asked. She realized if she were a psychic, she would already know the answer to that question, so she was not a psychic after all.

"I made a lunch meeting with that reporter, today. She wants to interview us today. She may be a bit earnest, but she said she doesn't want to ruin our reputations; she just really wants to interview us, together. She told me it would be an angle no one else would have," he explained, "you know, kind of like a debate on paper."

Hermione looked suspicious and said, "Come on, Malfoy, you bought that? Are you getting dense in your old age?"

"I'm younger than you are, grandmother. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If she wanted to out us as a couple, we would have already seen the story on the front page this morning," he reminded, sitting on her desk.

She swatted his leg, and said, "Up, up." He got up from her desk and stood beside it. "We aren't a couple," she said.

"You know that, I know that, but if the story had come out in the papers, everyone would have thought we were. Come on, we have to meet her in a half an hour, at some Muggle restaurant. Apparently she's a Mudblood just like you," he said, looking down at his watch.

She threw her hands in the air and said, "How can you just throw that word around like it means nothing. Stop that right now!" She sat upright, took his arm, lifted his sleeve, and pinched him very hard.

"I love it when you tell me what to do. I also love it when you yell at me and cause me pain," he purred, rubbing his arm. He walked over and shut her office door. He walked up to her, almost predatory, and she moved her seat back from the desk, to stand up. He was quicker and he pushed her seat back against the wall before she could stand, and put his hands on the armrests, trapping her. She was biting her bottom lip. He put his nose right next to hers, and she held her breath.

"I apologize for calling you that horrible word. Would you like to punish me again? Shall I suggest a spanking?" he said.

"Pervert." She put her hands up to her face in frustration, and then down quickly. "Malfoy, what are you doing to me?"

"At the moment, I'm looking down your blouse. You have a pink, lacy bra on today," he said. She looked up at his face, down at her blouse, up at his face again and she pushed him away from her hard.

She grabbed her jacket and purse, and said, "Let's go, you sick, depraved, lost soul."

"I love when women call me pet names," he laughed.

Draco and Hermione entered the little restaurant, which Draco would call a dive, and looked around for the reporter. She was sitting in a booth in the corner. She waved over to them. They joined her, and Hermione scooted into the booth first, so that she was up against the wall, and he sat next to her.

"Fine, we're here, what can we do for you?" Draco asked, annoyed.

"Let's start with civility, Mr. Malfoy. You know, I did you a big favour when I gave you those pictures back," the young reporter said, "And your little escapade at the theatre was kept quiet too. I really am interested in real news."

"Yes well, I gave you a boatload of galleons, so let's not act as if you're so noble. I know 'noble' when I see it, because I am the antithesis of noble. Now, what do you want?" he asked again.

"An exclusive, how you met, when you started dating, the works, which, by the way, I won't run until after the election. I'll run the interview from today before the election. I am ambitious, but I'm also smart. I'm not about to get on the wrong side of the future Minister of Magic or with a powerful man like Draco Malfoy," she said.

Hermione laughed, "Ha, ha, ha." She smiled at Draco. "That means I'm the future Minister and you're Draco Malfoy," she said.

"Shut up," he said back.

Hermione leaned into the girl and said, "We will give you the exclusive, not that there's much to tell since we just started seeing each other, if you can even call it that, and in exchange, you will back off until that time, agreed?"

Draco looked at Hermione and asked, "We just started seeing each other?" That was pleasant news to him.

The girl held out her hand and Hermione shook it. Draco ordered them some food, and turned to Hermione and said, "Shake her hand for me, too."

Hermione shook her head, disgusted with him, and smiled at the girl. "Mr. Malfoy agrees, too. I promise to keep in touch with you. I think your request is quite reasonable."

"Thanks, Miss Granger, and seriously, you'll make a wonderful Minister of Magic. You have my vote," she said.

"Hello," Draco said exaggerated, "other candidate sitting right here. Feelings bound to be hurt."

Hermione leaned forward and said, "Don't worry, he really doesn't have feelings."

"Thank you to you, too, Mr. Malfoy," the girl said anyway and smiled. "Now, for the time being, however, I do have some questions for you, and this article will run now, but I won't mention anything about your dating. Okay?"

Hermione and Draco both agreed and the young girl asked her questions. Hermione rather liked her. She reminded her a bit of her when she was young. After about twenty minutes, she scooted across the booth and said, "I won't take up anymore of your time, but please, stay and enjoy your meal. The food is wonderful here." She left them alone, with their salads, bread and wine.

"Draco, let's go," Hermione said, trying to move him along.

"No, I ordered food and I intend to eat it," he said.

"Then let me out," she said.

"You can climb out, if you wish, but I'm not moving," he said. The waiter brought their first dish and some more drinks. Draco started to eat.

Hermione sat there, fuming. "Draco, please, I have a lot of work to do."

"I'm not stopping you," he said.

"I can't get out," she said.

"That's not my problem, sweetheart," he smiled.

She thought about climbing over the table, but didn't think that would look good. She also didn't think it looked good for the two candidates to be seated next to each other, even if this was a Muggle establishment.

"Malfoy, I'll stay, but will you move to the other side of the booth?" she asked. She took a long drink of her soda.

"I like it here, it's easier to do this," he said. Just then, as he was eating with his right hand, his left hand went to her thigh. He moved it up her bare thigh, under her skirt. She didn't wear stockings. He squeezed her thigh, and she squeezed her legs together.

"Malfoy!" she hissed.

"Roll, Granger?" he asked, as he popped some bread in his mouth.

"Draco, move your hand," she said.

"As you wish," he laughed. He let go of the roll.

"The other hand, moron," she said.

"Oh, okay," he said. He started to move the other hand up and down her thigh.

"That's not quite what I meant. I meant move it off my leg," she ordered.

"If you're going to be the future Minister of Magic, you need to learn to say what you mean, and mean what you say," he said hauntingly. He continued to eat as if groping someone in public was the most natural thing in the world for him to do.

She looked around the restaurant. The way they were seated, the last table, their backs to the wall, her side to the other wall, he in the booth in front of her, tablecloth hanging low, no one could possibly see, but still, they were in public.

The waiter brought their entrees, and Draco took a fork, and continued to eat as if nothing was amiss. Hermione couldn't even concentrate, for at that moment, his hand moved higher, and then moved over to the other thigh.

Breathing hard, her head fell back. She looked over at him, her head on the back of the seat, and he looked at her. Her eyes seemed glazed over, and his looked dark and foreboding. She said, "Please." She meant, please, do _not_ do anything else. Either he misread her 'please', or more likely chose to ignore it, for his hand went between her thighs. She shivered.

She could no longer look at him. She turned her head slightly toward the wall. He picked up his fork, and took another bite with his right hand, as his left hand applied pressure at her apex. She moaned softly and low in her throat. He pressed on the now wet silk with his middle finger. She said a very small, "oh, oh."

He pushed the silk aside with his fingers, and moved the middle finger inside her and moved it around, in small circles. She lifted her hips slightly off the hard wood of the booth, and leaned forward. She took short little breaths.

"Stop it," she whispered.

"Make me," he whispered back.

She leaned over farther, so that her head was almost touching the table. Her right leg was under the booth, and her left leg was straight out, foot flexed, on the seat in front of them. The waiter came over and said, "Is something wrong?"

Without looking up Hermione said, "Hmmm, no, sick." She couldn't talk.

Draco stopped moving his finger for a moment and said to the waiter, "Bring us some more wine."

He pressed his finger back inside her and her stomach started flexing, she leaned back again, and put both arms straight out, her hands on the table, where she clenched it tightly.

"Oh, god, oh, god," she said. She moaned very softly and very long, and as quietly as she could. She could not believe he would do this in public, and she couldn't believe she would allow it, but it felt so good.

He had started to become very hard and he turned to look at her. She looked at him and said, "Please, stop."

"No," he said. He knew he should, but he didn't want to, and he knew that she really didn't want him to either.

She finally had the forethought to put her hand on his wrist, her other clenched the booth seat beside her legs. She tried, she really did, to remove his hand, which he now had his middle and index finger inside her, and his thumb rubbing her nub.

Her feet were presently crossed in front of her, and she squeezed her legs together so tightly he thought she would break his hand.

Finally, she felt as if she was going to scream, out of frustration and something else altogether, so she took both hands and removed his hand. She pushed him out of the booth. Pushed. Him. Out. Hard. He was appalled, but for different reasons than she. She ran to the woman's room. Draco remained at the table for a moment, and then threw money down on the top. The waiter came over and said, "Did your date have to leave?"

"Yes, she was ill," he said. He smiled, stood up, with his jacket over his front to hide his erection, and he walked down the long narrow hall to the woman's room. He looked to his left and his right, and then he tapped the door with his wand. A sign appeared that said, "Out of order." He opened the door, and locked it.

She sat on the sink, looked up at him, and said, "How could you?"

She stood from the sink and pushed him with one hand. He pushed her back. She pushed him with two hands. He pushed her hard, still with only one. She fell back into the sink. She rubbed her backside, where it hit hard on the porcelain. He rushed her, grabbed her face, and kissed her so hard she thought her neck would snap off.

His warm lips traveled down her neck, and then back up. His hands grabbed her bum, and her neck. His tongue came up to lap her lips, and then it retreated. She closed her eyes, and thought that for a moment she had forgotten how to breathe. His tongue continued to stroke her lips, softly, in anticipation of what was to come.

When the kiss finally ended, the tide that was held back by her emotions broke free, and with it was released all the passion she had felt for so long, but had denied. She actually started to cry. He looked at her, hands still on her face. He said, "What? What do you want, I'll do it!"

His lips covered her again and seized her tongue. She felt like the losing army in a battle, and she was ready for defeat. She opened her mouth as wide as she could, and moaned and held his shoulders tight. She felt the rushing tide travel down her body, to her stomach, and her legs. She could no longer stand. She put her arms around his waist and held on tight.

He understood what she was feeling, and he lifted her to sit her on the sink. Her legs parted and he pressed himself up against her, as they continued to kiss. Her breasts had become hard against their covering. He had yet to touch or kiss her breasts, and yet, just minutes before, he had his finger inside her. If she were lucid at that moment, she would have laughed at the absurdity of it all.

His hands were on her back, and went instinctively up and down. One hand finally came around and cupped one breast. He could feel the hard tip through her shirt and bra. He ripped her shirt open with both hands, pulled it off her arms, and unclasped her bra. Her breasts sprang out and he could not believe he was finally seeing what he had dreamt of seeing for so long.

Both hands came to her breasts, triggering waves of passion through her veins and nerve endings, making her legs and stomach tremble. She felt close to orgasm, and they had just started.

She said, "Please, take me somewhere else, not here." He could not comprehend what she was saying, and he really could not have stopped even if he wanted to. His mouth went down to her hard buds, her head fell backwards, and her back arched instinctively toward his body.

He stepped closer between her legs, to spread them wider. He covered her mouth with his once more. One of her hands went to his silky hair, and held him there, against her mouth. Her other hand stroked him on the outside of his trousers. He was so hard.

His hand began to stroke the inside of her thigh as they continued to kiss. His finger traced her slit on top of her knickers, and she whimpered. "Not, here, please, I don't want to do it here."

He finally realized what she had said, he really did, but he didn't want to stop. He looked up at her and said, "You're so beautiful. Will I be able to get past your wards?"

She shook her head no.

"My house," he said. He picked up her purse, her bra, and her ripped shirt. He put his arm around her. He took his wand and disapparated them both to his bedroom. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he let her go, and she fell backwards on the bed.

He lay beside her and traced a finger again against her opening. He pulled her panties down, and attached his lips to her nipple as his fingers reentered her. His thumb pressed on her clit, rubbing it in a circle, until she withered underneath him. She widened her legs, and he started to kiss down her body. He pulled her skirt down her body as he went, and threw it on the floor. With his mouth close to her and his fingers still deep inside, her breathing became shallower, and her skin glistened with sweat. He settled himself between her legs and his mouth glazed her opening. His hands came around and cupped her bottom, lifting it closer to his mouth, so he could have a better taste. He licked her folds, and her legs clenched in response.

She moaned again, too far gone to stop. His fingers stretched her open as his mouth found her pleasure point and sucked hard. Her fiery ache fired down deep in her soul, and demanded to be released. Her climax began, but he didn't stop. He continued his relentless work even as her waves and tremors began to shake her lithe body with the most intense, racking, orgasm she had ever had. He climbed up the bed next to her, still fully dressed. He undid his pants and lowered them just enough so that he could enter her quickly and effortlessly. He rocked his hips against hers, her hands on his back, guiding him harder, deeper. Who was he to go against her wishes?

After the final after wave traveled the length of her body, he also found his release, and it was better than he had imagine, and he had imagined it so many years, so many times, and in so many ways. He brought her against his hard chest and stroked her hair. She still had on her shoes, so she kicked them off. He was still fully dressed. He kissed the top of her head as she floated in the waves of her desire. She leaned her cheek against his chest, the feel of his shirt soft on her face, and as he stroked her back up and down with his hand, she went to sleep.

Draco didn't care. There was still plenty of time for them to seek additional pleasure and after all, this was what he had dreamt of all along. Not of his own gratification, but hers, and what he might do for her. This was his dream come true. All he thought was, she had better not mess it up.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10****– Hermione realizes she loves Draco**:

(Present Day)

"Where am I?" Hermione woke up confused. She looked around. She was in an unfamiliar bedroom. She looked down. She was naked, but thank her lucky stars, at least she had a cover over her.

When the events of the afternoon came back to her, she shut her eyes, and opened them quickly, hoping against all hopes that it was a dream. It was not. She really did have sex with Draco. They really did 'that' in public, they really did 'the other' in a bathroom, and they really did it 'all' wherever she was now.

She wanted to cry, because she felt like such a fool.

She had no concept of the time, or really the place. She crawled out of the bed. Where was Malfoy? Did he get what he needed and then leave? She found that doubtful since this was his house. He might be in the other room right now. She walked over to a chair in the corner of the room, where she saw her shoes underneath. There was a note with her name on it on top of her clothes, which were folded neatly on the chair. Her blouse was even repaired. Hermione left the note, half-afraid it contained 'money' for her services, and grabbed her clothing and hastily got dressed, and then she apparated home.

She appeared in her own bedroom. She ripped off her clothes and threw them in the trash bin. She went and took a scalding hot shower. She hoped the hot water would wash all of her guilt and shame right down the drain. What had occurred between them could NEVER happen again. She stood in the shower for so long that the water finally ran cold. She dressed and for the first time looked at the clock. It was after 5:00 pm, so there was no point in trying to go back to work. She didn't think she could muster the courage anyway. Her staff must have wondered where she had gone. She wondered as well.

_(Flashback)___

_Hermione opened her eyes, blinded by a bright light. She looked around and saw dull mint green walls. She was on a hard cot, with itchy blankets. She was in a foreign place, uncomfortable, and somewhat afraid. How did she get here? She sat up and a young Medi-witch came up to her and said, "Lie back down, dear. Your fever was very high. I gave you some potions to lower it."___

_"How did I get here?" she asked.___

_"My understanding is that your friend was escorting you here, and you collapsed, so he carried you the rest of the way." The young Medi-witch left the room.___

_Hermione shut her eyes and wanted to cry. Draco Malfoy 'carried' her here. She was mortified. How could she live with the fact that he carried an unconscious and obviously ill Hermione Granger all the way to the campus clinic? The last thing she remembered, she was being dragged here by Draco. Oh, and she had a hurt knee. She looked at her knee. It was healed.___

_The nurse came back in and said, "I healed your knee. Here are some potions to take at home. I cannot discharge you until your boyfriend comes for you. He had a class to attend, and said he would be back afterwards."___

_Hermione sat up again and said, "My boyfriend?" Did Anthony know she was here? He wasn't her boyfriend any longer.___

_"Yes, the man who brought you here. Good-looking, tall, blonde, unusual grey eyes. I think he said his name was Draco," the witch said. She smiled, put her hand on Hermione's shoulder and said, "Now, lie down and relax and then he'll take you home."___

_The witch left the little room, so Hermione sat back up, located her book bag and purse, and apparated to her parents' house._

(Present Day)

Sitting in the corner of her living room, having a good cry, Hermione Granger looked up to the heavens, well, to her ceiling, and yelled, "Bloody hell, what am I going to do?" She sat there for over an hour, examining and analyzing her feelings for Draco, and she kept coming back to the same damn conclusion. She loved him. She really did. She had loved him perhaps for a long time. Since University. Therefore, if she really loved him, how could she have let this afternoon happen? She was not the type of woman to do things like that. In addition, if he really loved her, as he had claimed off and on for ten years or better, how could he have done something like that to her?

She dated Ron for a year before she even let him fondle her breast. She dated Anthony for two before they slept together. Here was Malfoy, they had not even gone out once, and they slept together. At the rate she was going, she shuddered to thing of what would happen with the next man. Would she say hello and then 'bang' they would have sex on the sidewalk?

She felt more than mortified. She continued to cry.

How could she ever face Draco Malfoy again?

This proved her point that he really did not love her. He desired her, lusted after her, but that was all. What did that say about their future together? In Hermione's mind, it said that there was no future. A person does not build a relationship with another person around sex. Maybe he had sex with her to prove a point of some type to himself, although what that would be, she did not know.

She stopped crying and sighed loudly. If he used this against her in the election, she would kill him. If he did not use this against her in the election, she would be shocked and surprised.

She could not help replaying the events in her head. She hid her face in her hands and said aloud, "And I fell asleep!" Asleep! A good orgasm always made her fall asleep. Of course, more often than not that wasn't a problem, because usually she was in her own bed and by herself.

She stood up and started pacing. Just the thought of what occurred brought bile to the back of her throat. She was sure her face was red. She was sure she wanted to do it again, and that made her hate herself.

She screamed! Loud! Nothing coherent, no words, just a scream. She knew he would probably try to contact her this weekend, and she didn't know if she could ever see him again, but of course, they were running against each other, so she would have to face him sometime, but not this weekend. She was going to go find Anthony, at the summit. He had originally wanted her to go, and she didn't want to, because she was tired of pretending to be boyfriend/girlfriend, however, right now, she just really needed a friend, and whatever else Anthony was or wasn't to her, he was always her friend. Perhaps they should just try to work things out, perhaps that would be for the best. That would stop Draco Malfoy in his tracks, although it probably wouldn't.

She packed a bag and apparated directly to the hotel. She asked for a key to his room. To her surprise, they gave it to her. Maybe he was expecting her to come. She was going to come clean, and tell him everything. She needed to seek his counsel; she needed his advice on what her next step should be. She needed him to help her with 'damage control'. She needed him to tell her that just because she had sex with Draco Malfoy in public today, did not make her a bad person.

She stood outside his room, key in hand, and thought, 'I really DO NOT want to get back together with Anthony, I'm just afraid of my feelings for Draco.' She had almost convinced herself to go back home, and find Draco. She didn't know if that was the right choice, but it was what she had decided to do.

Until she heard a familiar laugh from behind the closed door, and it was not Anthony's laugh.

She put the key in the door, and opened it slowly.

"OH MY GOD!!!!" she screamed.

There, in bed together, both as naked as the day they were born, was Anthony Goldstein and Ron Weasley!

"OH MY GOD!!!" she screamed again. She dropped her bags and threw her hands over her face, and jumped up and down. Both men scrambled to get out of bed. Ron ran to the bathroom, and Anthony stayed in the room, and tried to get dressed, but he fell over.

Hermione screamed again, "OH NO, OH MY GOD, NO!" She could not help it. It was the singular most shocking and horrendous thing she had ever seen in her life, par none.

Ron came out of the bathroom; half dressed, and pulled her hands away from her eyes. "Hermione!" he pleaded. Anthony sat back down on the bed and hung his head.

"RON!" she yelled. "You were in bed with Anthony!" she screamed.

"I know," he said, his face as bright as his hair. Anthony threw the covers over his own head.

"Is Harry here too? Is he hiding in the freaking closet?" she asked, appalled.

"Merlin, I hope not," Ron said.

Hermione ran up to Anthony, pulled the covers off his head and said, "How many of my male friends are you screwing?"

Anthony said, "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I didn't want you to find out like this."

"Find out what? That you're gay or, that you're cheating on me with my best friend, who used to be my boyfriend?" she accused.

"Technically, we aren't together anymore, so I'm not cheating on you," he said, standing next to her. "You know we're only pretending to be together for appearance sake."

She looked shocked. "Appearance? That's all you ever preach to me, and then you do this, here at this summit, where half of the Ministry is attending. Anyone from work could see you two!" She sat on the couch and said again, "Oh my god!" She would say something else, but no other words seemed appropriate. Ron came to sit next to her, and put his hand on her arm. She looked at him disgusted, pushed him off the couch, and said, "Yuck! I don't know where that hand's been, so don't touch me."

She suddenly felt like a hypocrite, especially after what happened this afternoon between her and Draco. She picked up her bags and walked out of the hotel room, after throwing the key on the floor. To think she felt guilty about sleeping with Draco, and here were her two ex-boyfriends in bed together.

She got on the lifts, and as they were closing, she said once more, but quietly, "Oh, my, god." She started to cry.

_(Flashback)___

_Still very sick, and undoubtedly still with a fever, Hermione apparated to her parents' home, and threw herself on the couch. She still had a headache, and every bone in her body ached. She summoned a blanket to her, turned off the lights with her wand and turned on the Christmas tree lights. She felt so ill, and so alone. She wished someone were there to take care of her, both figuratively and literally._

(Present Day)

Hermione got off the lifts and went to a lounge right off the lobby. She sat down on one of the couches, and hung her head. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She did not look up, because she knew immediately to whom it belonged. Just when she thought this day could not get worse, it did. The truth was that the touch of his hand made her feel better. No one else had ever made her feel better merely from a touch. She stood up and threw her arms around his neck.

"What's up, Granger? Did you come here to find me?" he asked. He nudged her slightly away from him. Had she been crying?

"I didn't know you would be here," she said. She wiped her hands over her tear soaked cheeks.

"I told you I was coming to the summit in my note," he said. Why was she crying? If she wasn't here for him, then why was she here? He looked around to make sure there were no reporters or photographers, and he added, "I left the note on top of your clothes."

"I didn't see a note," she lied. She knew that made it sound more like his fault than her own, but she didn't want to admit that she was afraid to read it, because she was embarrassed over what had happened.

He looked slightly dejected. He said, "When I saw that familiar head as I was walking past the lounge, I thought perhaps you had come to join me." He suddenly realized something. "Gee, Granger, if you didn't read my note, you probably thought I snuck out on you or something. You must hate me again, huh? I'm sorry."

He was being so sweet. It made her sick. She sat down and started to cry again.

He frowned and sat next to her. "If you aren't here for me, why are you here?"

She said, "I was coming to talk to Anthony. He came here as well. I needed to tell him about the reporter and all, and see what he thought we should do about it, and I was also going to tell him about us, well, leaving out the x-rated parts, but when I got up to his room, I didn't get to say much but, 'oh my god'." She didn't know what else to tell him.

Draco said, "Granger, are you saying that bastard had another woman in his room?"

She didn't get to answer, because Anthony came walking into the lounge. He walked past Malfoy, and put his hands on her upper arms. He forced her to his chest, and held her tight. He stroked her hair and said, "Hermione, what you saw up there was shocking, I know that, and I am so sorry. I should have told you. I know that, and I know I told you we should keep our breakup a secret until after the election. I know I told you we should not see other people. It's my entire fault." He rocked her back and forth in his arms. She had her arms straight at her sides, head buried in his chest. She felt as if she was having an outer body experience.

Draco frowned. He stepped to the side, to look at Hermione's face. She looked devoid of emotion. He was beginning to understand quite a few things, one being, Anthony Goldstein was a royal pain in the arse. Another being that Hermione was not upset over the fact that she apparently found Goldstein in bed with someone else. No, Draco knew Hermione better than that. Something else was bothering her. Could it be her own guilt and duplicity? Draco thought he hit the nail on the head. She felt guilty about what happened this afternoon. Did that mean she was ashamed? Did it mean she didn't care for him?

Hermione stepped away from Anthony, but held his hand. "I know now why you made that suggestion. It was not to protect my reputation, or to further my career, it was for your own self-preservation. It was to hide who you really are, and what you really want."

Draco leaned toward the pair and asked, "Who is he really, and what does he really want?" Hermione and Anthony both gave Draco dirty looks and he said, "What? I came to this party late, you know, I'm just trying to catch up!"

"Why are you here, Malfoy?" Anthony asked sternly. "Go away."

"First, Goldstein, you don't own the world, I do. Second, I'm here for the same reason you are, for the stupid summit. I saw my opponent, on the couch, apparently distressed over something, so I came to offer her assistance, out of the goodness of my black, cold heart, and nothing more."

"I thought you broke your leg?" Anthony asked.

"Yes, well, I thought you and Granger were a couple, so I guess that makes all three of us liars," Draco declared.

Ron came into the lounge and pulled Hermione to him. Draco said, "What is this? A bloody class reunion. What are you doing here, Weasel?"

"That's not your concern, Malfoy," Ron said.

"Good lord, where's Potter?" Draco asked, looking around.

"Not in the closet," Ron said to make Hermione smile, since she asked earlier if Harry was in the closet. It worked. She laughed and hugged him. Draco looked confused.

Hermione said, "No, you and Anthony would be the ones in the closet."

They both laughed. Anthony looked angry, and Draco was still confused, but only for a moment.

"I am so sorry, Hermione," Ron said.

"Me too," she said, "But really how long have you been, you know?"

Ron looked embarrassed, but did not answer, due to the fact that Draco Malfoy had just put two and two together, and the answer was 'four the love of Merlin, Goldstein was sleeping with Weasley'.

Draco pointed his finger at Ron and said, "HEY! I know what's going on!" He jumped in the air, clapped his hands together once, turned in a circle and laughed. "Oh, this is priceless! This is better than anything I could imagine!" He pointed to Goldstein and started laughing. "Granger caught her two ex-boyfriends in bed together!" He bent at the waist, clutched his side, and bellowed with laughter. He pointed at Hermione last and said, "Do you know what your nickname should be, Granger? It shouldn't be, 'Honest Hermione'! It should be, 'Turn them Gay Granger'."

"You better hope that's not my new nickname, for your own sake," she said, not laughing at all.

He stopped laughing as well when he understood the implications of what she said. Oh yeah, he was sort of her boyfriend right now.

Anthony tried to pull her toward him as he said, "Hermione, come upstairs with me. We need to talk."

"No, its fine, Anthony," she said. She felt worn out. "I'm going home, but I'm through lying. You can stay on as my campaign manager, but the lies stop here. By the way, I'm sleeping with Draco Malfoy, I thought you should know." Anthony looked liked someone punched him in the gut. Hermione bent down to pick up her bags, and when she stood up, she saw the three men staring at her with three different expressions.

Anthony Goldstein looked angry.

Ron Weasley looked shocked.

Draco Malfoy looked happy.

She gave Ron a hug and whispered in his ear, "Seriously, you could do better." She gave Draco a small, sad, smile, and to Anthony she said, "Don't be ashamed of who or what you are, Anthony." She turned to leave, and walked out into the lobby. Anthony ran after her, which left just Draco and Ron in the lounge.

Draco looked at Ron and said, "I always knew you were gay."

Ron looked at Draco and said, "I always knew you were in love with Hermione."

Draco was joking when he said that to Ron, but he had a feeling that Weasley was not. Draco said, "Should we follow them. If he makes her angry enough, it's hard to tell what might happen. She might castrate him, and then you both will be eunuchs."

"You aren't funny at all, Ferret," Ron said. He motioned toward the door with his head, and Draco and he followed the pair to the lobby.

They heard the pair talking, and Anthony said, "Hermione, now is not a good time for me to come clean about my sexual preferences. Think of the campaign."

"I am thinking of the campaign, and I think it's the perfect time. By the way, since Ron would not answer my question, why don't you. Have you always known? Did you lead me along all these years, knowing who you really were?" she asked sadly.

Anthony nodded.

Draco leaned toward Ron and said, "I could have told you that. I always knew he was gay as well. I suspected as much about both of you, and the jury's still out on Potter."

Ron glared at Draco and said, "Harry's not gay."

"I have some news for you Weasley," Draco said, "Just because Potter turned you down, doesn't mean he's not gay. It just means he has good taste."

Hermione overheard and walked up to them and said, "What does that say about my taste? I dated Ron. I'm dating you. You keep insulting my former boyfriends, and you insult me, and indirectly, yourself."

Draco pondered that for a moment when Anthony said, "Yeah, about that, how long have you two been together?"

Hermione said, "I don't know that we're together, but we slept together today, and I came here to tell you about it, and to find out what I should do, but I know I have to figure this out on my own."

Draco interrupted and said, "What do you mean, find out what you should do about it? You shouldn't do anything about it." He frowned.

Hermione took a deep breath and said, "All of you gentlemen have a fun time at your summit. I'm going home, have some sweets, a good cry, watch a sad movie, and figure this thing out on my own, so I can see where I stand and see what I want." She apparated away.

Draco looked at the two men beside him and said, "And to think, you both gave her up, which proves you're both insane. I know that I for one have been waiting for her to come to her senses forever, and I'll never give her up, never." Draco went to find his associates. He was not going to stay at the conference. He would rather spend the weekend with Granger.

_(Flashback)___

_If she coughed one more time, she was going to cry. Her ribs hurt, her throat hurt, and her chest hurt. She heard a knock on the door, but she did not even think she could lift her head from the pillow, let alone get up and answer the front door. She felt dreadful.___

_Whoever it was, they weren't about to give up. They kept knocking, and knocking, and knocking, and knocking. She begrudgingly stood up, and went to answer the door. It was Draco Malfoy.___

_He came in, as if he was invited, and said, "I was worried when no one answered. I thought you passed out again! And do you know how hard it was to get your parents' bloody address? Apparently, the university protects the privacy of their students or some such shite. Also, I couldn't apparate in, and I tried. Your parents are Muggles, aren't they, so why do they have wards?"___

_When he was done with his condemnation, Hermione walked away from the door and collapsed on the stairs. She leaned her head on the wall as coughs racked her body. He shut the door and kneeled down in front of her. "Why aren't you in bed?"___

_"Because some stupid prat knocked on my door and wouldn't go away until I answered," she said. He actually picked her up. If she was not so ill, she might have felt thrilled. ___

_She pointed toward the living room. As he carried her, he asked, "Where are your parents?"___

_"Hawaii, for holiday," she said. She coughed again, and he placed her on the living room couch.___

_"Why didn't you wait for me at the clinic?" he asked, covering her up.___

_"It didn't dawn on me that you would return for me," she said. He saw through the lie in an instant.___

_"Don't lie, it's not becoming. It works for people like me, but not for people like you," he reprimanded. He tucked the covers around her body. She felt flushed. Perhaps her fever had returned. "Do you need anything?" Draco asked.___

_"Are you here to take care of me?" she asked in a small voice.___

_"Of course I am." He smiled at her. There was another knock on the door. He said, "See, you need me to answer your door." He went to the door. Anthony Goldstein was standing on the threshold.___

_"What are you doing here, Malfoy? Where's Hermione?" Anthony asked.___

_"The better question is what are you doing here?" Draco asked.___

_"Hermione called me. I'm here to take care of her," he said. He walked in the hall, turned to Draco, and said, "You aren't needed now, Malfoy, I'm here. Go away and leave her alone. Don't confuse her. We're going to get back together, so the sooner you come to grips with that, the better. I know you've been infatuated with her for a long time, and I just want to let you know that you and she are never going to happen."___

_Draco gave Anthony a rude hand gesture, and said, "Don't count on that, Goldstein. Someday, we will be together." He slammed the door hard as he left.___

_Hermione looked over the sofa back and said, "Where did Draco go?"___

_Anthony said, "I say again, the better question is, what was he doing here, Hermione? Oh well, no matter, I'm here to take care of you now." He came to the couch and said, "Let's get you up to bed." He helped her to the stairs. She glanced back at the door once, and thought about Draco._

(Present Day)

Draco walked through the lobby, about to leave, when Anthony rushed up to him. "Don't use her, Malfoy. I know you want to mess with her head, and that you want to ruin the election."

"You don't know a thing, Goldstein," Malfoy said. "I'm with her now; she's no longer your concern. You aren't needed now. Don't use her and don't confuse her. Leave her alone." He had been waiting to say that to that man for a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione heard a knock on her door. She opened it and saw it was Draco. She said, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take care of you," he said casually. "I thought you could use a friend."

She leaned against the doorframe and said, "Is that what we are now, friends?" She really wanted to know.

"I would like to be, and a bit more," he said with a sly smile.

"Listen about this afternoon, at lunch," she stopped. She didn't know what she wanted to say about this afternoon. She knew, but she could not articulate it.

"Granger, did you hear what I said?" he asked. He walked in the door and shut it tight. He turned to face her and said, "I said I wanted to be 'more'. Can we end this madness and carry on like people who are in love, for that's what I am. I'm in love, and I suspect you are as well."

"You suspect that?" she asked. She smiled and looked down.

He put his index finger under her chin and said, "Yes, I suspect that, would I be right?"


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 – Draco Proves to Hermione it's More than Physical: **

(Present Day)

Was Draco Malfoy asking Hermione Granger if she loved him? She did not flippantly tell people she loved them, the way he did, and it was not because she wasn't capable of love.

"I'm not ready to declare my love for you," Hermione said. She might not ever be ready for that, perhaps not for a long time.

Draco pushed his way into the living room and sat down. He said, "I'm not a woman. I don't need daily affirmations of love and devotion. I can tell you love me, and that's enough."

"I wish the voters could hear your gender bias remarks, Draco," Hermione stated. "And tell me, Mr. Malfoy, how can you tell that I love you? I would really like to know, for I'm not even sure I do."

Draco got off the couch, slowly, and moved across the room to her like a panther, stalking his prey. She remained by the door, and backed up in the corner. He closed the gap in no time. Without touching her he said, "When I'm close to you like this," he closed his eyes and smiled, "I can hear the change in your breathing patterns." He opened his eyes.

"That's just me trying to keep the bile from rising in my throat, but continue," she said, not convincing anyone, least of all, herself.

"When I'm touching you," he said, holding her wrist up to his face, and delivering the lightest kiss to the pulse point, "I can feel your pulse quicken."

"Do tell," she said with more bravado than she felt. "What else?"

"When my arms are around you," he said, slipping one arm around her back, and purposely sliding his hand between her shirt and skin, the other hand going up to her hair. "I can feel your heart beating against MY chest. It reveals the secrets that you want to hide."

Hermione shivered and shook her head, to clear her wayward thoughts. Both her hands were on his chest, and she tried to push him slightly away, as if she could. "And?"

He put his face next to hers, cheek to cheek, his lips trailing little kisses across her jaw. "When my face is right next to yours, I can feel the flush of your skin, before I even see it." He looked in her eyes. "I can see your pupils dilate in delicious anticipation. Your skin becomes prickly and warm. Your breath is sweet, and your lips," his thumb came and traced her lips twice, "are swollen with desire and want."

He was right. She wanted him to kiss her so badly at that moment that her knees buckled. He held her tighter. His lips went to her ear and he said softly, "I can feel your knees buckle, and I reach out instinctively to hold you upright," he said. He delivered small kisses to her earlobe, before tugging it gently with his lips.

"Good thing, that one," she said. He looked at her and smiled. She did not want to smile back, encourage him, but she could not help it.

"And last, but not least, when my body is flushed against yours, I can feel your stomach muscles tighten, and I can see you tighten your legs together, out of reflex and want. I know that at any moment, if I let you go, you would end up a heap of jelly at my feet, and I could take you and you would be mine forever. I have that much control over you, and do you want to know why?"

What she wanted to say was, 'You don't have control over me', but in a strange way, he did. She felt like she was under the power of the Imperius curse, so all she could do was nod. He elaborated, "I know I have this much control over you and your physiological functions, because you do the exact same thing to me."

For the longest time, he held her like that, up against the wall, one hand still on her back, the other rubbing her arm and neck with his knuckles. She said, "Is there anything else that would help your argument, because I'm still not convinced."

"Definitely," he said. He looked right at her and said, "I can feel the muscles in your back tense, and your nipples harden, and when my hand touches your bare skin, like this," his hand went from her back to her chest, under her shirt, and cupped her left breast over her bra, "I know that what I feel is shared by you. It must be. You aren't the type to feel this way with just anyone. You might not recall this, but I once said that you were the type of girl to love hard and love forever. Your love, Hermione, is true. No use denying it." His hand continued to stroke her breast. Her nipples ached for his lips.

He was right about her legs tightening, but at the moment, he had his thigh placed between them, so they had to stay open. The friction of his leg between her legs was causing a spasm, close to a climax, and all he had done was talk to her and caressed her slightly. Was that love?

While she pondered these things he placed his mouth on hers, and slowly, so slowly, he caressed her lips with his, as if he needed to taste her. She felt lightheaded. She fought hard to stay conscious, and pushed him away suddenly. He stepped away from her, and she had to lean against the wall to keep from falling. She put her hands on her lips and went to sit on the couch. He came and joined her.

She put her head in her hands and said, "Don't you see, Malfoy, the things you just described aren't love. They're physical. They're desire. They're lust. I'm not denying that I feel that for you, but physical responses aside, that's not love. What if the physical is all we have between us?"

He laughed and put his feet up on her coffee table. "I would say that's a good start, but don't underestimate me, or yourself. I feel more than just the physical for you. I've had quite a few years to cultivate my feelings for you."

"I want more than the physical," she said, turning to him.

"Have you even ever had that?" he asked, really wondering. He was not mocking her, he really was curious.

She thought for a moment. She had physical relationships, but not the way he had described. She had never felt the things he had just made her feel. She finally answered, "I don't know. Maybe I haven't, but what I have had with my former boyfriends was friendship first. I don't have that with you."

"Yes, well, I'm not gay," he said. He picked some imaginary lint off his trousers. She looked at him skeptically, and he smiled and said, "What? I'm just saying, your former boyfriends are both gay, so no wonder you felt friendship with them first. That's all they could really offer you. You're right; I don't want to be your friend. I mean, if that happens, great, however, I want to be your lover, your confidant, your one and only. Let me be your one and only."

She looked confused, so he leaned closer to her, took her arm in his hand, and started to trace her veins with his other hand. Goose bumps immediately appeared. He smiled. "Don't underestimate the physical, Granger."

_(Flashback)___

_It was a few weeks before Graduation, and Hermione had a scheduled meeting with the Dean. He was going to discuss her possible job placement at the Ministry. Percy Weasley had been the Minister of Magic for a year now and he personally handpicked Hermione from all the graduates to work directly in his office. She would be the assistant to the undersecretary to the Minister. She knew he picked her on her merit, not for the fact that she was like one of his family.___

_She also wanted to ask about her class standing. The Dean had forbidden her to ask anymore, because she used to come in and ask almost weekly, and the last time she did, he told her he would expel her if she bothered his staff again, so she didn't.___

_She approached his office, and opened the door. His secretary gave her a dirty look. She told the woman, "I swear, he asked to see me."___

_"I know, Miss Granger, have a seat, but don't talk to me," the young woman said. Hermione gave her a dirty look back. Hermione opened her purse and took out her compact mirror. She looked at her reflection. She heard the door open and in walked Draco Malfoy. She had not seen him since before Christmas, and was surprised to see him now.___

_"You look beautiful, Granger, put your mirror away," he said. ___

_She glared at him, and as he sat next to her, she held the mirror up to his face. He said, "What are you doing?"___

_She looked back at the mirror and said, "I want to see if you have a reflection."___

_"So droll, Granger," he lauded. He took the mirror from her and held it up to her nose. She batted it away. ___

_"What are you doing?" she asked.___

_"Seeing if you're breathing," he said. "Because you're about as funny as a corpse." She grabbed the mirror from him and snapped it shut.___

_"Here to see the Dean?" she asked.___

_"Yep, you?" ___

_"Yes." When she did not elaborate, he rolled his eyes.___

_"Riveting conversationalist, aren't you?" he asked. "I find myself incredibly fascinating, so I know a good conversationalist when I do or do not hear one."___

_"You are overindulgent, Malfoy," she grinned. She looked at her watch. ___

_He said, "What time is your meeting?" ___

_"In ten minutes, yours?" she asked.___

_"Ten minutes after yours." He frowned.___

_He stood up and went over to the secretary's desk. He started to flirt with the young woman. They both laughed. She put her hand on his knee, as he sat on her desk. Hermione frowned. She felt jealous and was not sure why. She had not seen him in a long time. She did not even like him.___

_He came back over and said, "I'm seeing the Dean before you."___

_"What? I'm first," she said.___

_"Maybe, maybe not," he said. Was he cryptically talking about their meetings or the class standings? He said, "Miss Tanner over there tells me you're usually banned from this office. Why is that?"___

_"I used to come too often, I guess. I was told that unless I had loss of extremity, internal bleeding, blindness, or Voldemort had returned, I wasn't to come back," she said, quite seriously.___

_She said it with such sincerity and earnestness, that he laughed loudly. "You do have a way of ingratiating yourself to people." She frowned again and he said, "You're very pretty when you smile, so stop frowning." She continued to frown. She did not know what to make of him. ___

_"I haven't seen you forever. What have you been up to?" she asked.___

_"This and that," he said, mysteriously.___

_"Fine, don't prove your conversational skills that you have so highly heralded," she said.___

_Draco stood back up, ignoring her once more, and sat on the secretary's desk again. He flirted some more, called her by her first name, "Delores" and then came back to Hermione.___

_"Now your appointment has been changed to tomorrow. If you keep insulting me, you won't see the Dean until after graduation."___

_"Hey!" she said. "Stop using your powers of persuasion against me, you arse. I can't compete."___

_"Damn straight you can't," he said. He added, "And believe me, my powers of persuasion aren't as strong as you think, or you would certainly be under them, instead of me being under yours."___

_She didn't know what he meant by that, but she decided to ignore him now. She picked up her purse and took out a Muggle paperback book. It was a romance novel. He took it from her and looked at the cover.___

_"Ha!" he exclaimed. "Granger reading a bodice ripper!"___

_"Shut up and give me my book," she said. He threw it back on her lap.___

_"Your boyfriend not giving you any at home, so you need to read about it?" he asked.___

_"Don't be crude," she said.___

_He suddenly took her hand and said, "Seriously, what's love without the physical, Granger? Tell me, is Goldstein holding out? Maybe the problem is with you. Perhaps you're frigid. Do you want me to check?" She took her hand from his.___

_"Why are you alive?" she asked. "You know what, Malfoy? I don't like you, I really don't."___

_He took her hand again, kissed it, and said, "I know you don't, Granger. I know. However, you had better tell your body that, for it might disagree. Never underestimate the physical." ___

_The Dean's secretary told Draco he could go in for his appointment. He stood up, but turned around quickly. He took her book from her again, and tossed it in the trash. He said, "You need a real person, Granger, not a book." He touched her nose, in what she thought was a condescending way, and went into the Dean's office._

(Present Day)

"I seem to remember you telling me that one other time, not to underestimate the physical, but you have to like the person, don't you?" she asked. Draco could not help but stifle a laugh, for she really seemed concerned. He could see the cogs in her head spinning.

She stood up and started to pace the room.

"Sometimes," she began, "I think I don't even like you very much." As soon as her admission left her lips, she was sorry. She looked up from her self-ramblings, and looked at his expression. He didn't particularly look hurt. He looked amused. When she did not see any sign of hurt feelings, she continued. "And I know that sometimes you don't like me, because you treat me truly horrible sometimes."

He stood up and said, "You're right, I don't always like you. As far as you liking me, well, I can be such a bastard, that I don't even always like myself, and I would think you were daft if you always liked me. No one with half a brain would like someone like me all the time. I doubt my own mother likes me fifty percent of the time." He turned on the couch, to lie down, and he put his head on the armrest. He patted the space beside him. She took a few seconds to consider his offer, but walked over and sat beside him.

She said, "Shouldn't you be friends with the person you are in love with?"

"See, that's what I was trying to say earlier, Granger. That's your problem. All your lovers were more like friends to you. You need a lover first, and then a friend, that's what I will be. I can be both, I swear on my own life."

She shocked him when she put her hand on his chest and bent down to kiss his forehead. She put her head on his chest. It made him feel giddy inside, and he couldn't help but smile. His hand came up and stroked her hair. He knew it was more than just physical. Why couldn't she see that?

She said, "What do we do about the election? It's only a month away."

"What do you mean, what do we do about the election?" he asked. She looked up at him and sat back up.

She answered, "Well, we can't date each other, and both run for office. We can do one or the other, or run and then date, but not both at the same time."

He sat up. He moved around her so his feet were back on the floor. He said, "That's crazy. Of course we can do both. We can hide the fact that we're dating. You hid the fact that you and Goldstein weren't dating, so you aren't so pious that you are above lying."

She hit his arm with a closed fist. She said, "Why do you want to be Minister, anyway? What made you want to run for the office?"

He knocked into her body with his elbow. He said, "I decided to run for office so I could finally beat you at something."

"Really?" she asked, shocked at his admission.

"No, not really, I ran to be close to you, period. At least in the beginning. I didn't want to be Minister," he said.

"Then why don't you give it up? For us?" she asked.

He stood up and said, "Wow, what a strange request. I'll tell you why I don't want to give it up, because I think what I just said a second ago is now the truth."

She stood up and said, "What did you just say?"

He turned, as a look of realization graced his features, and he said, "Now I think I just really want to beat you. That doesn't mean I don't love you, because I really, really do, but I also want to beat your arse to a bloody pulp."

Hermione was so shocked at his statement that she stood dumbfounded for several long moments, and then she ran from the room, went straight into her bedroom, and slammed the door hard.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 – Hermione tells Draco Something Shocking:**

(Present Day)

"Granger, oh, Granger," Draco said to himself as he stood alone in the living room. He had no idea he was going to say that to her. He had no idea he would want to continue with the election. He more or less got what he wanted when he entered the race, which would be HER. So why did he now suddenly want to win.

He walked down the small hallway to what he assumed was her bedroom. He put his hand up on the door, and was about to knock when she opened the door behind him. She stood in the doorway and he turned to look at her. "This isn't you bedroom?" he asked, pointing to the door he thought belonged to her room.

"Apparently not," she said. She walked out of the bedroom and went straight to her kitchen. He was right at her heels. She sat at the table and he joined her.

Draco said, "Don't you think even if I dropped out of the race, and we started dating, there would be a conflict of interest? Don't you think there would still be an air of impropriety to the constituents?" She did not answer. She started moving her hand back and forth on the smooth hard table. He continued, "I've waited a decade for you, I'm not waiting a moment longer, so I'm not waiting until after the election, so that plan won't work. In addition, I really have decided I want to win. I didn't even know that until I said it, therefore, why should I give that up?" He was trying to be honest, and it was not an easy feat for Draco Malfoy.

She stopped moving her hand and looked up at him. "A decade? You've loved me for a decade?" she asked.

"Give or take a few years. At least since University, and perhaps longer," he said. He was now looking at the table, instead of at her.

She decided to ignore that declaration, so she said, "The only solution that I can see is that one of us has to pull out of the race. I am sorry, that's the only way."

He straightened up and said, "I'm sure there are some people out there who will be sad to see you concede."

"Me?" she said.

"It's your idea," he said sincerely.

"You just want to continue to irritate me, don't you? You can't even tell me why you want to be Minister," she said.

"You can't tell me why you want it either!" he said, suddenly angry.

She stood as well, "I really want to make a difference!"

"Oh, poop!" he said. She laughed. She was angry with him, but the sound of 'oh poop', coming out of Draco Malfoy's mouth made her laugh.

"Don't laugh at me," he smiled.

"Oh, poop!" she mocked. "Why do you want the job?" She sat back down.

"I don't have to explain myself to you," he said.

"No, but you do have to explain yourself to the people. They want to know about the enigmatic Draco Malfoy, too," she said.

"They will have to do their own research," he said, coming over to her. He took her in his arms, and she tried to push him away. "Kiss me, because I'm feeling blue, my new girlfriend doesn't think I'm good enough to be Minister of Magic."

"Maybe your new girlfriend is smart enough to know what you will be a terrible one," she said. He let her go and slapped her arm hard.

"Why can't you just let it be?" he asked.

She was shocked that he slapped her arm, even though it didn't hurt. "Because, if the fact that you want to win just to beat me is the only reason you want the job, than that's not a good enough reason. I suspect there is truth to your statement. After all, I was top student at Hogwarts, I was top student at University, I mean, it must have hurt your pride quite a bit to find yourself second to a Mudblood. Especially one in which you found yourself attracted."

He glared at her for a very long time, took a deep breath, and said, "You believe what you want, but I won't concede to you again. If I really, really thought this was important to you, and you wanted this more than anything, I would, but I know it's not."

She turned her head slightly and said, "What do you mean, concede to me again?"

_(Flashback)___

_Draco Malfoy left the Dean's office and said, "He's all yours, Granger, but take it easy on the old guy." She walked past him, and he sat back down, and said, "I'll just wait here for you."___

_"Why are you waiting for me?" she asked.___

_He shut his eyes, crossed his feet at the ankles, and pretended to sleep.___

_After her meeting, where the Dean told her she got the job at the Ministry, and invited her to attend a luncheon where he was to announce the top spot, she stepped back out to the lobby. The secretary was no longer there. Draco was still there, in the exact same position. She tried to walk quietly to the door, but Draco said, "How did it go?"___

_"Good."___

_"Are you top student?"___

_"No, I mean, I don't know. They're having a luncheon next week, and he will announce it there," she said. ___

_"Ah," he huffed, "he didn't invite me to a luncheon."___

_"Well, you probably have to be in contention for top spot, and you must not be," she stammered. She felt awkward for some reason. ___

_He stood up and said, "Where are we going now?"___

_"We?" she asked.___

_"Yes, we," he said. He opened the door for her.___

_"I have to go shopping for a dress for graduation. My mother has been bothering me for weeks about it. That's where I am going," she said.___

_"So am I," he said.___

_"You need a dress for graduation?" she asked.___

_"I hear those robes they make us wear for graduation covers a multitude of sins, and one of my greatest sins is that I love to wear women's clothing. Go figure," he joked. He walked beside her as they exited the building.___

_Hermione could not help but laugh and she said, "If only that were true, I could think of such wonderful ways to blackmail you."___

_"I could make it true, if you promise to blackmail me," he said.___

_She stopped walking and smiled. She said, "I really have to go."___

_"I do, too," he offered.___

_"I mean, I have to go shopping, alone," she said.___

_"Where's the fun in that? Listen, I've known you for a long time. Your taste is dubious, at best. You need a nominal amount of taste to buy a nice dress, and you my dear, have none, so you need me," he said. He touched the sleeve of her blouse, made a sour face, and let go. "We can pick out something for the little luncheon, too. Let's go, Granger."___

_He held out his arm. She felt stupid refusing. She took his arm and he apparated them away._

(Present Day)

For the first time, she realized something. He must have made top spot, and he gave it up to her. That was what his meeting was about, and that was why he wanted to see the Dean before her.

The fact that she did not even earn the top spot hurt her more than she thought it would. She asked again, "Answer me again, what do you mean, you conceded to me once? Are you talking about back at school?"

He looked confused for a moment. What did he say? "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm hungry. Are you hungry? I need some nourishment, because apparently I'm rambling," he said.

She sat back at the table and lowered her head. "I didn't earn the top spot. Well, at least now I don't feel as bad that you caused me to forgo my speech and not get my diploma." She put her cheek against the cold wood, hands in her lap.

"You look a pitiful site, Granger," he said truthfully. "You live too much in the past."

"Says the man who claims to have loved me for a decade or more," she said as a retort. She closed her eyes. "I'm tired. Can you show yourself out, I want to get some rest?"

He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. He started to rub them and he leaned down and said in her ear, "You deserved that top spot, I didn't. It didn't mean anything to me and it did to you. Likewise, I'm sorry I ruined graduation for you. I swear, I had a good reason for showing up backstage, pissed out of my mind, at least I thought it was a good reason at the time. I knew that was more important to you than it was to me, so I was glad to do it. This isn't important to you." He ended by kissing her ear. She shrugged her shoulder, and sat up.

She removed his hands from her shoulders, and with his hands in hers, she turned in her chair. "Your wrong," was all she said.

She stood back up and went to her bedroom. She lay down on the bed, on her side. He started making noise out in the kitchen. He yelled in to her, "Do you like bacon?"

Good lord, he was going to burn her house down. She sat up and said, "Do not touch my oven!" She lay back down.

He walked in her bedroom and said, "I refuse to eat raw bacon, so I have to touch your oven."

"Do you really want to be Minister, I mean, really," she asked without looking at him. He crawled up behind her on her bed. She felt apprehensive suddenly.

"Yes, I do," he said. He reached out and rubbed her arm up and down. She felt incredibly aroused.

"Then we have a problem," she said. He edged closer to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her flush against his body.

"There's no problem. We both continue to run, and we see each other in private, we continue to fight and argue in public, well, probably in private as well, and when the election is over, we start to see each other openly, and you can even keep your job as under secretary to the Minister," he said. He moved her hair away from her shoulder. He moved her shirt as well, and kissed her bare shoulder.

She shifted so she was on her back, and her head turned to look at him. He had his hand resting on her stomach. It was very intimate, and sensual. She said, "It would be hard to keep up the lying and the sneaky around."

"Not for us. We're very smart, and I personally am very adept at lying and sneaking around. I hate to admit this to you, but I've been stalking you for years now and you were none the wiser," he joked. His hand moved slowly across the planes of her stomach. He leaned over her and kissed her again. "Let's not think so much, Granger. Let our action speak for us." His mouth went to hers again, and their tongues twirled together. His hand stroked her hips and thighs, on top of her pants. Each light touched burned her skin. She sighed and pushed him away. She moved back to her side.

Draco felt frustrated, both sexually and with the way she was acting. He said, "What do you want? Do you really want to win the easy way? You'll probably beat me anyway, and wouldn't that be sweeter? Do you really want to date a man who gives up on things?"

He had a point. She said, "It would be nice to finally really beat you, since I didn't really beat you for the number one spot at University, and since I didn't get to have a seventh year at Hogwarts. This would be a just reward." She turned back to face him.

"Exactly" he smiled to her. He kissed her again, and as his lips played with hers, his hand went under the thin material of her blouse, and touched her breasts. He lifted her shirt and it came over her head easily. He leaned down to kiss the bare skin of her belly. His tongue laved long licks up to her breasts. Without permission, he slipped the bra straps down her arms. She helped him unclasp it and they threw it off the bed together.

"I don't know about this," she said, unsure.

"I do," he answered. He watched as her breasts rose and fell with each ragged breath she inhaled and exhaled. "You really do belong with me. I was so happy when I found out you and Goldstein weren't really together." He put one nipple in his mouth, kissed it long, and hard, and grazed his teeth over the sensitive puckered bud. He looked up at her again, as her hands stroked his shoulders and back, and her eyes were shut and her mouth open.

He rubbed her breasts with his cheek, feeling the points harden with the contact. She began to move under his touch, and he grew harder than he imagined. His mouth traveled back down her stomach, his hand went to her hip, to her leg. He stroked the inside of her thigh. He put his fingers in her mouth, and she put them inside and sucked on them. It was as if he could feel her suction on every part of his body. He lifted his own shirt off his head and came to lie back beside her.

She looked at him through half shuteyes and she did not know what made her think of this, but she just had to ask, "How did you know Anthony and I weren't really together?"

"Pardon, I'm deaf in this ear," he said. He continued to stroke and to kiss her breasts. His hand went to the waistband of her pants, and started to creep underneath. She sat up in the bed, pounced on him and pinned him flat on his back. "Well, there's my little dominatrix now!" He laughed.

"Draco Malfoy, how did you know?" she asked.

Her hair fell down in front of her, brushing his face lightly. Her breasts bounced slightly as she sat on his stomach. He looked like he wanted to devour her, and he lifted his arms, even though she was attempting to hold them next to the mattress, and he soon had her pinned under him. He leaned against her and said, "I hired a private detective to find out dirt on you, merely a technicality, just for the election, you understand."

"What!" She was appalled.

"Listen, Goldstein did the same on me, you can be sure. He probably found out a lot more on me as well, since I have more to hide. You, on the other hand, live a very boring life. I wonder how you stay awake during the day. It's a wonder you don't succumb to the boringness and fade into nothing," he joked. He moved his right leg so he was now straddling her. He let go of her hands and she propped herself up on her elbows.

"Get off!" she said. "I can't believe you tried to have me investigated! What were you going to do with the information you found?"

"Well, nothing really. Apparently my investigator wasn't that good, since he didn't even know your boyfriend and your ex-boyfriend were double dipping, if you get my drift," he said. He moved so he was now leaning against her. He rocked his hips suggestively and said, "May I suggest we continue with our previous activity?"

She pushed him hard, and he fell off her. She sat on the edge of the bed, slipped her shirt back on, and said, "Are you going to use the fact that Anthony is gay against me in the campaign?"

"Truthfully?" He came to sit next to her. She looked over at him as her answer. He continued, "Granger, politics are a dirty business, and if you can't hand the dirt, little Miss Squeaky clean, then best get out of the mud puddle. I cannot promise you I will not use it. I might, I just might."

She screamed and stormed out of her bedroom. She turned in the hallway and looked at him as he sat on her bed. "I don't like this whole truthfulness kick you're on, so stop it this instant!" she screamed. He stood up and walked out in the hallway. He grabbed her hand. She tried to get it away from him. "What else did you find out about me?" she asked, as she continued to try to remove her hand from his. He finally let go.

"Nothing much, listen, let's have something to eat and then we can make love," he said. He walked past her and went back to the kitchen.

She pointed toward her door again and said, "Get out of my house!"

"Why, do you want take out?" he asked. He was being purposely obtuse.

"Who did you use to dig up dirt on me anyway?" she asked.

"Blaise Zabini," he answered.

_(Flashback)___

_Hermione asked Draco where they were. He told them he apparated them to a dress shop owned by a witch, but which catered to both Muggles and witches. "My mother comes here all the time," he said. ___

_She began to look at all the beautiful dresses and she said, "I can't afford any of these dresses!"___

_He looked at one of the price tags. "It says Five Hundred pounds. Is that a lot?" He smiled. ___

_"Draco, you're graduating from University. You know how to convert pounds into galleons. You know that's a hell of a lot of money." She looked at a few more dresses and said, "Seriously, I can't afford anything here, and I have to leave now." She started to the door.___

_"Why are you leaving?" he asked.___

_"Why do you want me to stay?" she asked.___

_He was quiet for a long time. When no answer was forthcoming, she turned around to walk out the door. She was not even sure what part of London she was in, but she needed to find a bus or a cab and try to get home. She would apparate, but she was afraid someone would see her. She lifted her arm to hail a cab and Draco was by her side.___

_"I'll take you home," he said. ___

_"There's no need," she responded.___

_"Why are you such a bitch all the time?" he asked, with a perfectly pleasant tone to his voice. It was like an inquiry, not an accusation.___

_"And why are you such an arse?" she asked, with no pleasant tone at all.___

_He held up his hand and said, "Fine, I have a date tonight anyway. I was trying to do something charitable to someone less fortunate than I am, in hope that you might not embarrass the whole graduating class in those rags you usually call clothing, and see what it gets me. You really are such a bitch sometimes, Granger."___

_A good-looking man stood by them, his hand also in the air, to hail a cab. He turned to look at the two arguing people, and he said, "That's no way to talk to a lady, Malfoy."___

_Hermione turned around quickly to see who was addressing him. Draco walked passed her and said, "What the hell are you doing here, Zabini?"___

_"I just graduated from University. I'm home for a short holiday. My mother said your mother told her that you, too, graduate in a few weeks, right?" he asked. He shook Draco's hand. ___

_Hermione felt like she was imposing. She started to walk down the street, but Draco reached out and grabbed the back of her blouse, without even a glance back at her. He pulled her back to them and said, "You remember the most famous Mudblood of them all, don't you, Zabini? We went to school with her, Hermione Granger."___

_Hermione stomped on Draco's foot. He cursed and Blaise laughed and took her hand and kissed her knuckles. "My, Granger, you've gotten to be quite pretty. How are you?"___

_"Fine," she said, blushing. Draco wanted to vomit.___

_Blaise pointed at the pair and said, "Are you two together?"___

_"Eww, no," Hermione said.___

_Draco said, "Seriously, Granger, to you that's a compliment. It's only an insult to me."___

_She said, "Maybe you're right, Malfoy." She did not want to fight. She turned from the pair and lifted her hand to hail a cab again.___

_"Self deprecation isn't an attractive thing on a woman, Granger," Draco said.___

_A cab pulled up and Hermione opened the door. Draco stood on the curb and said, "Don't get in that cab, Granger."___

_Hermione gave his a scathing look and said, "Blaise, it was nice to see you again. Malfoy, I hope to never see you again." ___

_As she started to shut the door, Blaise held on tight and said, "Perhaps we could share this cab. I'm in a hurry."___

_"Apparate," she said.___

_"I could say the same to you," he smiled.___

_She shrugged and scooted over. He got in the car and said, "I'll get a hold of you soon, Malfoy, and we can have a drink." He shut the door. Draco watched the girl of his dreams and the man of his nightmares drive away together and he cursed the day they both were born._

(Present Day)

"Blaise?" Hermione asked. "Blaise Zabini?"

"Yes, and hiring him really was a big waste of my time and money, for the only concrete thing he told me was that you and Goldstein were pretending to be a couple, and that you apparently like to dance alone in your house in your underwear. While that created a nice mental imagine in my head, it really is of no use in the election."

"I don't dance around my house in my underwear," she said.

"Oh, maybe that's only in my dreams, then, I knew it was one or the other. The point is, he didn't find any other dirt on you, so see, you have nothing to fear," he said. He wanted to kiss her, but she looked about ready to hex him at a moment's notice.

"Fine!" he suddenly shouted. His outburst startled her. She stood perfectly still with her mouth opened wide. "I won't say a damn thing about your gay boyfriend, but I am still running for Minister, now I must insist that we either eat or make love, your choice."

She sat down at her table for what felt like the hundredth time that night and said, "Blaise really didn't tell you, did he?"

Draco did not like the look that was on her face. He sat down as well. "Tell me what?"

She put her hands over her face and said, "He was the first man I ever had sex with."


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**** Draco tells Hermione about Blaise**

_Flashback: ___

_Hermione looked out the cab window, and tried hard to ignore the handsome man who sat next to her. ___

_He said, "Do you need dropped off at your folks?"___

_"Oh, yes," she said. Blaise leaned forward and gave the driver the address of his hotel and then the address of her house. She looked at him knowingly.___

_He said, "I assume they live in the same house?"___

_"Yes," she said. She looked back out the window.___

_"What were you doing with Malfoy?" Blaise asked.___

_"It's a complicated story and I'm not even sure I understand it very well," she said. _

_"He seems to like you or something," Blaise said. He looked out the other window. She turned to look at him.___

_"I think he does," she agreed.___

_"Do you like him?" he asked. He turned to look at her.___

_She turned back toward the window and said, "I think I do."___

_"Interesting," he said.___

_"Yes," she said. She looked back at him and him at her.___

_"Aren't you with someone else? Goldstein I think, crafty little Ravenclaw from Hogwarts?" he asked.___

_She smiled and said, "We are constantly on and off. At the moment, we're back on, I'm afraid."___

_"And yet you like Malfoy? Interesting," he repeated.___

_"Yes, you just said that, anyway, nothing will probably come of it and Anthony and I will probably get engaged or something," she explained.___

_"I always thought he seemed gay," Zabini laughed.___

_"Malfoy?" she asked, shocked.___

_"No, Goldstein," Blaise said. The cab pulled up to his hotel. He said, "Come in for a while, why don't you. We can talk about old times."___

_"I have to get home," she said.___

_"Why?" he asked.___

_"I don't know?" she laughed.___

_He leaned over and kissed her cheek. He said, "I hope you know I'll always care for you. Good luck with Goldstein, or Malfoy, or whomever you end up with." She smiled and touched his face. He put his hand over her hand as it rested on his cheek.___

_He got out of the car, and she went home. He stood on the sidewalk and decided he needed to talk to Malfoy, and soon._

Present Day:

Hermione was afraid to look in Draco's eyes. Why did she have to say anything about Blaise to him? Blaise apparently never said anything to Draco about their past, so why did she?

She stood up and walked into the living room. She expected him to storm through the room, open the door, and leave any moment now. Instead, she heard him rummage through the cupboards of her kitchen. He was probably searching for a knife, to kill her or something.

He came out of the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. He had two bagels on a plate, and two cups of coffee. He sat down and put the tray with food on the coffee table. "It's the best I could come up with since you refused me access to your stove." He picked up one of the bagels and started to eat.

"Malfoy?" she asked.

"Don't you like bagels?" he asked.

"Malfoy?" she said again.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't you have anything to say about my admission about Blaise and me?" she asked, nervously.

"Not particularly," he said back.

"Why not?" she asked.

He took a deep breath, and said, "Let me ask you something. How many men have you slept with, honestly?"

"Well, counting today, three," she said. "I never slept with Ron. Blaise was my first, and then Anthony, therefore, counting you, three. How many men have you slept with?" She smiled at him sheepishly.

"You're as funny as a doorknob," he said. "I'm not shocked by your little admission, because I already knew about it."

"So, Blaise did tell you?" she asked.

"Yes, he told me, but not recently. I've known for a long time," he said. He turned to stare at her. A blush started at her jaw line and went all the way to her hairline.

"He told everyone, didn't he?" She stood and went to the window. It was dark already, and it had begun to rain. She felt tightness in her chest, and she wanted to cry. How could he? She thought he would be discreet. She put her hand up to the cold windowpane, and said, "I should have known."

Draco came up to her, bagel in hand. He tore off a small piece and when she turned to face him, he placed it near her mouth and waved it back and forth, tempting her. "Aren't you hungry?" She shook her head no. He popped the piece in his mouth. There was cream cheese on his thumb. He put his thumb on her bottom lip and smeared the cream cheese across its plumpness. He then leaned over and licked it off her lip. He said, "I'm hungry, but not for bagels." He put his hands on her face, and skimmed them down her face, to her neck. He felt her pulse. He brought his lips back to hers and let them linger. He didn't kiss her. His mouth lingered there for a few moments, and then he pulled back and looked at her again.

His hands went down her arms and he held her hands. "He told me the day of graduation."

_Flashback:___

_Draco Malfoy was nervously pacing back and forth in his bedroom. He was graduating today. He told his parents he wasn't attending the ceremony. They hemmed and hawed, but he would not be swayed. He was not attending the actual graduation. He had better things to do. Today was the day he was finally going to tell Hermione Granger that he loved her.___

_He had loved her for a very long time. All the hate he used to show her in school masked his true feelings. He had a crush on her, which developed into love. He loved her. He, a pureblood, loved her, a Mudblood. He, a Death Eater's son, loved her, best friend of the 'Boy Who Lived'.___

_Draco Malfoy was drowning, and the only way he would survive would be to confess his feelings to her. She could hex him if she wanted, or tell him she felt the same, but either way, Hermione Granger was going to find out today that Draco Malfoy loved her, and only her, and would love only her, forever and all time.___

_He looked at his watch. In four hours he would finally tell Granger that he loved her. He was almost giddy with excitement. He had given up top spot for her, because it was so important to her. She was number two, but hell, it was more important to her than it was to him. She was the only thing important to him. For that reason, he would go backstage at graduation, wait for her to give her speech, and then corner her and tell her he loved her. Excellent plan, if he did say so himself.___

_He shook his hands out of nervous energy. He was about to leave his flat when he heard a call from the fireplace. He ran in the living room. It was Blaise Zabini. What the hell did that wanker want?_

Present Day:

Hermione couldn't face him. He found out on the day of graduation. She put both hands on the cold glass of the window and wanted to cry, and she wasn't sure why. It was not that she was ashamed; it's just that deep down inside she didn't want to hurt him, and she knew that finding out like that must have hurt him very much. "Is that why you showed up backstage drunk?"

"See, still the brightest witch of our age," he said. His hands went to her shoulders. He turned her around fast and held her to his chest. He kissed her hair and said, "None of this matters now, and just finding out that you once slept with him wasn't enough to make me show up backstage drunk."

"If that wasn't why you showed up drunk, what was the reason? Did he explain what happened? How it happened?" she asked.

"No, but really, I don't care, anymore," he said. He did not want to know, for as he said, it did not really matter anymore. She belonged to him now.

"Why would he tell you about it on graduation?" she asked.

"To ruin my life?" he joked. He thought the real reason was much simpler. He thought it was because Blaise wanted her for himself.

_Flashback:_

_"What do you want, Zabini? I'm busy," Draco said as Blaise dusted off his clothing and stepped out of the fireplace.___

_"My mother wanted me to come. She said that your mother was very upset because you tried to hide the date of graduation from your parents, and when they found out, you informed them you were not going. I'm here to talk sense into you, supposedly. Frankly, I really don't care one way or another," Blaise said as he sat down on a chair in the corner. He looked around and said, "Nice flat."___

_"I'm not up to idle chit-chat, Zabini. Can you just leave?" he asked. Draco went to pour himself a drink, to steady his nerves.___

_"Drinking at 10:00 am, Malfoy?" Blaise asked.___

_"Seriously, is this your concern? We aren't even friends, not really," Draco said.___

_"Tell Uncle Blaise your problems, Draco. You might feel better. Did you drop out of school and not tell your mummy and daddy? Did you flunk out, or what?" Blaise asked. He moved over to sit on the other end of the couch.___

_"For your information I'm graduating with honours. I even made top spot," Draco sneered.___

_"Afraid of graduating, then? Afraid a smart Malfoy might ruin your reputation as a beautiful, dumb blond?" Blaise laughed.___

_"I'm not talking with you about this," Draco insisted. He went to get another drink. ___

_As Draco's back was to Blaise, Blaise said, "I really was surprised to find you with Granger the other week." ___

_Draco stiffened. He stood up to his full height, turned to face him, and said, "Why? We're not in school anymore. I can associate with whomever I please."___

_"No, no, I know, I'm not judging, I'm just saying that I was surprised," Blaise said, as he crossed his legs and relaxed on the couch. Draco came back over with a drink for them both. Blaise refused. Draco did not respond to Blaise, so he continued, "Did you know we had a little secret relationship in school?" Draco clenched his teeth.___

_"In school?" Draco asked, trying hard to sound nonchalant.___

_"Yes, in Hogwarts, sixth year. After that little Christmas party of Slughorns, in which you tried to crash. She brought some pompous git and the fellow was being quite randy with her, and she kept hiding from him. She hid in the corner at one point, and found me there as well. I was bored to tears; she was there, so we struck up a conversation. Turned out she was very fascinating, and dare I say it, very pretty," Zabini said.___

_Draco sighed a sigh of relief. That's what Zabini meant by a relationship. Well, so what? "That's not much of a relationship, one talk in the corner at a Christmas party."___

_"Well, after that, we started meeting in the Library, to study. She had it bad for Weasley, and I began to give her advice, that sort of thing. We became very friendly," Zabini explained.___

_Draco was fine with the information as it stood now. He really did not want to hear more.___

_Nevertheless, Blaise, apparently bored, and enjoying hearing himself talk, continued, "You know about the next year. My mother put me in hiding and Hermione and her friends were off saving the world. Well, the next summer after the war, we saw each other. She was at Flourish and Blotts and I was there as well. I asked her out for coffee. She had been dating Weasley, but said it didn't really work out. She talked excessively, telling be about her first year at Uni, how she loved it, how summer break was coming up, and she wanted to find a job, she just talked, and talked, and talked," Blaise said.___

_"Yeah, I get the idea," Draco said. "Why are you telling me all of this? I have to say, it's not that fascinating of a conversation," Draco said sincerely.___

_"I think you know why I'm telling you this. You like her," Blaise said.___

_"I don't like her!" Draco sat upright. He didn't know why he lied.___

_"Yes, you do, but I have a request, don't pursue her, Malfoy. Leave her be. She's not for you," Blaise said. His real reason for coming there was over, so he decided to leave.___

_He went to the fireplace, and Draco was by his side. "You're warning me from her?"___

_"Yes, I am," Blaise explained. "There's more to my story. We started dating, privately. We told none of our friends, or our folks. We dated that whole summer and fall. It was comfortable with her. I had known her for so long, and she me, and we did not have to be guarded with the other. We could be ourselves. I was her first, you know?"___

_Draco suddenly could not swallow. "Her first what?" 'Please do not say what you are going to say', Draco thought.___

_"She and I slept together. I took her virginity. I'm not gloating. I never told a soul, and I'm only telling you because I want to make you so angry that you'll leave her alone. You aren't good enough for her, Malfoy. It pains me to say this, but neither was I. Oh, it was innocent enough, even somewhat awkward, and I won't give out the details, but it happened just that once. I implore you to leave her alone. Don't soil her. People like us aren't meant for people like her. She represents all that is good and pure in our world, and us, dear Draco," Blaise motioned with his hands to himself and then to Draco, "we don't."___

_He stood to leave, but then said, "I asked her if she liked you, on the cab ride home the other day. She said she did not. Don't make a fool of yourself."___

_Blaise stood, patted Draco on the shoulder, and left. Draco went to have another drink. He didn't care so much that Blaise had slept with Granger. It startled him, but he didn't really care. He was somewhat surprised to find out that she never slept with Weasley, because Blaise came after Weasley. He assumed she slept with Goldstein. ___

_The reason he was all of a sudden distressed was that Blaise told him that Hermione didn't like him. It never dawned on Draco that she really might not like him. She certainly seemed as if she did. However, she constantly told him that she did not; perhaps all those pronouncements of extreme dislike were heartfelt. Perhaps she hated him, and perhaps Zabini was right. ___

_Draco Malfoy was not good enough for Hermione Granger and he never would be. He poured himself another drink, and then another, and then another still._

Present Day:

Draco relayed the story to Hermione. She stood wide-eyed and she had become angry, but not at Draco, at Blaise. If she had only known that Draco had feelings for her back then, they might have been together all these years. They could have been happy. She would not have wasted so much time and energy acting as if she hated him.

He finished his story by telling her that he had changed his mind that day about telling her that he loved her, and he got smashed instead. He said the more and more he drank, the angrier he had become, at her, at Zabini, at the fact that he gave up top spot for her, everything. He said that in his drunken state he had decided to come and tell her off something good.

When he showed up backstage, he still couldn't deny his feelings for her. He said when she gave up her speech to help him, that it gave him a glimmer of hope that she did not hate him, no matter how small.

Draco relayed the story as if it was a weather report, without any emotion at all. He finished and sat back down. She remained standing. She said, "Blaise Zabini cost us years! We could have been together, if I had known how you felt. That day in the cab I told him that I DID like you!" She went to her bedroom, got her jacket and her wand, walked back out to the living room, and said, "Malfoy, stay here. I have a wizard to find, and when I find him, he's going to pay."

Draco stood up and smiled. He said, "Now this might be fun."


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Draco Removes a Leaf from Hermione's Hair:**

(Present day)  
  
Hermione began to look around her living room. "What are you looking for, love?" Draco asked.

"My wand, I can't curse him without my wand," she said frantically.

"It's in your hand," he laughed.

"Oh, right, now, do you know where he lives?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Draco said, still amused.

"Will you take me there?" she asked.

"Sure," he said, "This will be great. You will kill a member of my campaign staff, and I will win the election by default, because you'll be in Azkaban. It's a perfect situation. Grab my hand."

He held out his hand and she said, "Bugger, Malfoy, why did you have to ruin this for me?" She threw her coat on the ground. She pocketed her wand.

"I'm serious; I wouldn't mind you if you wipe him off the face of the earth." Draco still had his hand out.

"You know I can't do that," she said.

Draco said, "Then wait right there," and he winked at her and disapparated.

Hermione said a feeble, "Malfoy?" but he was already gone.

A few seconds later Draco Malfoy was back in front of her, holding the sleeve of a confused Blaise Zabini, who was still clutching a wine glass in one hand, and a look of utter bewilderment on his face.

"I brought the offensive creature to you. No one will see you curse him here in the privacy of your own home. I don't know why you didn't think of that. See, that's why I would make a better Minister of Magic," Draco explained.

Blaise tore his arm from Draco's grasp and said, "What the bloody hell is going on here, Malfoy?" He looked around, and seemed just to notice Hermione. He walked up to her and smiled. "Hello, Hermione, is this your house?"

"Yes," she said back, her face red and her hands balled in fists.

Blaise took a step back, and without taking his eyes off Hermione, he leaned toward Draco and said quietly, "Is something wrong with her, she looks ready to pitch a fit."

"Oh, I told her about what you told me on graduation," he said. He pushed Blaise toward Hermione and said, "Now get in there, and remember, I expect a dirty fight."

Blaise set the wine glass down, carefully, on the top of Hermione's television. He held up his hands and said, "Remember, Hermione, I'm unarmed, since my wand is in my jacket pocket, and my jacket is back at the restaurant, where I was on a date."

Draco pushed him forward a bit more. He turned his head toward Draco and through clenched teeth said, "Stop it, Malfoy."

Hermione pointed her wand right at Blaise's chest. Draco was even surprised; he was joking around, and assumed she was as well. He didn't think wands would be drawn. He stopped pushing Blaise forward and said, "Granger, maybe you should let me take care of the bastard. I have dreamt up so many ways to get revenge on him over the years that one of them certainly will meet with your approval."

She pointed her wand toward him and said, "Go sit down on the couch."

"Hey, Granger," Draco said with a frown, "I know you're a bossy little thing, but seriously, you can't just tell me what to do and expect me to do it."

She raised both eyebrows, and held her wand hand steady toward him. She grinned a small grin as if to say, 'oh really?' Draco went to sit on the couch. She turned back toward Blaise and said, "Why did you ruin mine and Draco's graduation? Why did you have to tell him about us? Moreover, why did you lie to him and tell him that I DIDN'T like him? I told you that I did, and you know that! Do you realize that things might have been so very different if you hadn't interfered?"

Now Blaise seemed angry. He approached Hermione and put his left hand on her wand. Draco sat up slightly, and took out his own, just in case. Blaise said, "Yes, I know things would have been different. You two would have probably married by now, had a kid or two, fought during your whole marriage, he would have had at least four or five affairs, he would have made you miserable and unhappy, probably driven you to drink, and you would be divorced and jaded by now. So, that's what would have happened if I hadn't interfered. If someone gave me a time turner and asked me to go back and do it all again, I would do the exact same thing, and without any apologies!"

He took Hermione's wand right out of her hand and threw it down on the floor.

Before she could protest, he took her arms in his hands, and shook her hard. Draco stood to protest. Blaise said, "I was shocked when Malfoy's campaign manager, Goyle, hired me to dig up dirt on you. I also knew I wouldn't find any, so the only thing I could tell them was about Goldstein and you faking a relationship. I could have told him that Goldstein and Weasley are having an affair, but I didn't, because I didn't want to hurt you, and I have never wanted to hurt you!"

He said it to shock her, but Draco came up, removed her from his hands, and said, "Yes, that's old news, we both already know about Goldstein and Weasley." Blaise let Hermione go and stared at Draco. Hermione rubbed her upper arms where Blaise held her too tight. Draco smiled at Hermione, and said, "Did he hurt you?"

Blaise grabbed his wine glass, and swallowed the contents. He said, "You're a fool, Malfoy. I would never hurt her. How did you know about Goldstein?"

"Well, no thanks to you, but Granger walked in on them tonight, at the conference," Draco informed him.

Hermione bent down and picked up her wand. She rushed toward Blaise and Draco held her around the waist. Blaise put both hands up again, surrendering, since her wand was pointing right at him once more.

"I probably won't be able to hold her long, Zabini. She's pretty strong," Draco laughed.

Suddenly, Blaise had a knowing look grace his handsome features. "You two are finally together, aren't you? That's why Malfoy told you what I said to him on graduation, and that's why you're so angry, Hermione. You two are finally a couple, and on the eve of an election, oh joy!" He backed away and lowered his hands. "Now, I wondered what the press will make of this."

"The press already knows, well, one reporter does, and she's not going to tell anyone until after the election," Hermione said, pushing away Draco's arms. She looked at him and said, "I won't hex him, you can let me go now."

"Oh, you can hex him for all I care. I just like holding you," he remarked. He kissed her cheek. Nonetheless, he let her go.

Blaise said, "Does this mean you're going to start openly dating? You know that won't bode well for either of you. It might cost you the election, Hermione. Draco's not a fool. He knows that. He probably planned this whole thing. He probably seduced you and made you believe he still cares for you just so you would throw the election, and he could win."

"Hey, that's not very nice, nor completely accurate," Draco said.

Hermione turned to him and said, "Nor completely accurate?"

"Fine, Granger," Draco said in annoyance. He turned back toward Blaise and said, "Hey, that's not very nice, nor at all accurate."

Blaise laughed loudly and said, "I think it is! You finally declared your feelings to her after all these years, and you wait until a month before the election, and while you're behind in points!" He continued to laugh and said to Hermione, "He's using you! He doesn't still have feelings for you. If he did, he had years since graduation from University to tell you! Why wait until now. Did you sleep with him yet? Probably at his house, huh? Did you make sure he wasn't recording the whole thing?"

Hermione was confused. She looked from Blaise to Draco and said, "That's not true, is it?"

"Of course, it's not, and hell, Granger, I've been telling you that I love you forever, almost every time I've seen you over the years! I can't help it if you're dense and have just now figured it out, but I swear, none of this was planned. I swear it! Don't let this bastard turn things around. I never would have gone and collected him for you if I had known this would happen," Draco said, very angry.

Hermione shook her head and said, "I don't know what to believe." She sat on her couch and hung her head.

Blaise stood before her and said, "Believe what your brain is telling you, not your heart. He's using you, and your brain knows it's true. He's not good enough for you, and he never will be. I'm not good enough for you either, and at least I really care enough for you to recognize that fact. Malfoy's too much of a selfish bastard to think of anyone but himself. And even if his intentions are honourable, in the fact that he might really still care for you, you still have to see that this is rotten timing, and even if you sneak around, it will cost you in the end. Run away from him, Hermione. Run, hide, and don't ever let him touch you, for he'll spoil you. I know that's true, and so do you."

Blaise looked toward a frowning Draco and said, "You told all of your campaign staff that you would win no matter what you had to do, but I didn't think you would sink this low. Oh, and consider this my resignation, Malfoy." He took his wine glass, held it up, said, "Cheers," and with his own wand, which was _not_ left at the restaurant after all, but was in the pocket of his pants the whole time, disapparated away.

Draco looked over at Hermione who sat on the couch, her head on the back, eyes toward the ceiling. He said, "Well, it's been one hell of a day, hasn't it?" He didn't know what else to say, because she would believe whatever she wanted anyway, so his pleas would be useless at this point.

Hermione stood up and walked toward the hall. Draco followed her with his eyes. She disappeared around the corner. He picked up the tray from earlier and put it in the kitchen.

He heard her in the bathroom. She was in there for a long time. He stood outside the door. She opened the door and without a word to him, she walked past, in only a towel. She had drops of water all over her body, and her hair was back in a ponytail. She pulled the band out of her hair and shook out her curls. She sat on the side of her bed. She looked up at Draco, as he leaned in her doorway.

"One question, Draco," she said.

"Ask me anything," he said back.

"You're not just using me, or our relationship, to win the election, are you?" she asked.

"I swear, I'm not," he said. He did not know why things had finally fallen into place for them, and while it was rotten timing, he did nothing to encourage or discourage it from happening.

She held out her hand to him. He came toward the bed and took her hand. He stood before her. She said, "You know what Malfoy? I know I love you, I really, really love you."

He smiled. His smile went from his mouth to his eyes, to his heart. He said, "I know that, Granger, and I love you, too." He sat next to her and patted her knee in assurance. He leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly. His mouth traveled down her cheek to her chin. He skimmed his nose back up the trail his mouth had just made, and nibbled on her neck, right below her ear. She put her arms around his shoulders. He stood up and pulled her with him.

"Shall we kiss now?" she asked.

"I think that's the best plan you've ever had," he said.

_Flashback:_

_Hermione walked through the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. It was a windy, fall day, and she had just come from outside, where she had met her mum for lunch. As she tried to pat down her windblown hair, she was not watching where she was going, and she ran right into Draco Malfoy. He put both hands on her shoulders to steady her. She looked up and all she thought was, 'the last time I saw him after graduation he kissed me.'___

_"Hello, Granger, you have a leaf in your hair," he said.___

_"That's a strange greeting," Hermione said with a smile. "Is that the new custom? Greet someone and then make a random remark?'___

_"Sure, it's all the rave, your turn," he said, hands on his hips.___

_"Hello to you too, Malfoy, you have a smirk on your face," she said.___

_He smiled widely and said, "See, you're quite good at this," and he reached up and removed the leaf from her hair. He showed it to her and then threw it on the floor. Her hands went back up to her hair and he said, "that's all there was, just the one."___

_"Are you sure, I have a meeting in an hour, and I would hate to have leaves in my hair," she said. ___

_He considered her for a second, and walked around her. He saw no more leaves, but he felt compelled to touch her hair again. It was long, dark, and oh so curly. His hand came down her hair as he stood behind her and he said, "Yes, one more, but I got it." He threw the imaginary leave on the floor as well.___

_She turned toward him and said, "Thank you, Malfoy. I haven't seen you since graduation, what have you been up to these days?"___

_"I work for Malfoy Global International," he said. "I have a meeting with the undersecretary to the Minister at two o'clock this afternoon to discuss lifting a trade embargo against international magical objects."___

_"Oh, that meeting would be with my boss and me then, how strange," she said. "Well, you're early."___

_"I know," was his only response.___

_"I'll see you in an hour, I suppose," she concluded. She started toward the lifts and he followed. She entered the lifts and again, he followed. She pushed the button for her floor, and he pushed the same button after her. She turned to look at him and she asked, "What are you doing?"___

_"Following you," he said. He looked up at the numbers as they went by. "Oh, by the way, how's Goldstein?"___

_"We aren't dating anymore. Well, not at the moment, but I'm sure if you ask me next week we'll be back together." She laughed.___

_"What a strange relationship you two have," he remarked.___

_"I know, everyone thinks so," she sighed.___

_The door opened to her floor and she exited, followed closely by Malfoy. She said, "Are you really here for the meeting this early, because I'm not ready to meet with you yet."___

_"I'll wait," he said. He sat down in a chair by her desk. Her desk was in the outer office, next to the undersecretary's clerical assistant. She sat down and began to riffle through folders when he stood up only to sit down on her desk. He said, "Tell me, Granger, do you still live at your parents' house?"___

_"No, they bought me a cottage for graduation, so I live there now," she said. She didn't bother to look up at him as she spoke. The truth was, his close proximity to her made her nervous, and she was not sure why.___

_"What a nice graduation present. All my parents got me was a burial plot," he said.___

_That comment made her look up at him. "That's morose."___

_"No, that's a joke," he said. "My parents bought me a house also. Ten bedrooms, twenty-two rooms in all, completely furnished, with five house elves. It is a nice little place. How many rooms does your little cottage have?"___

_She gave him a stern stare and said, "Four, a living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms and a bath, no elves."___

_"Ha!" he laughed a fake, condescending laugh.___

_"Shut up," she said, "and get off my desk," she added, swatting his legs with a folder in her hand.___

_"What other memorable thing did you get for graduation?" he asked, as he remained on her desk.___

_"That was months ago, and I think we've already had this conversation in a men's room after graduation, at the restaurant," she reminded him as she stood.___

_He stood as well; he blocked her from moving, even the slightest bit. He said, "Do you remember what I gave you for graduation?"___

_She took a deep breath and looked around. No one had seemed to notice them, yet. She said, "I remember, but seriously, Malfoy, I work here. You need to back off a bit."___

_"Remind me what I got you, I seem to forget," he smiled.___

_"Go away, Malfoy," she said. She pushed on his chest. ___

_He took both of her hands from his chest, held them in his, and said, "Show me what I got you."___

_Show him? Hermione remembered…___

_Finally, his hand opened, and then he swiftly placed it on her cheek, pulled her closer, and kissed her just as swiftly on her lips. His lips felt soft and warm against hers. The pressure was there one second, and gone the next. She put her fingertips lightly to her lips. She could not breathe, let alone speak._

Present Day:

Draco closed his fingers on the opening of her towel. He pulled it slightly, so it fell from her frame. He was drawn to her like the well-known moth to the flame. He couldn't let her go now. As the towel pooled around her feet, she felt her face blush and she looked down. He put a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. His eyes were beaming, and he said, "I want to taste your lips, Hermione."

As he spoke her name, her pulse raced. He took one-step back and quickly undressed. He then leaned in sheepishly to touch his lips to hers. She moaned faintly and he groaned loudly. They responded mutual answers to mutual questions.

They did nothing at first but kiss each other and explore each other's mouths. Their hands stroked, petted, and touched, but mostly, it was all about the kiss. His hands went down to the sides of her breasts, as they pressed against his chest. They were hard and soft at the same time. It seemed this action on his part made her press her body closer to his, so that soon her nipples were hard as they pressed against him. He pushed her away, but just long enough to pull down her covers. He pushed her up against the bed, and they both descended together to lie on the bed.

She quivered underneath him as his mouth moved down her neck, to her collarbone, and down to one breast, where he feasted and tasted to his heart's content. Her heart beat so fiercely that she thought it would beat right out of her chest. She had never felt anything like his touch before. He lavished long licks on each mound as she moaned his name. As he licked the sensitive tip, he said, "Hermione."

She arched her body against his and his mouth traveled lower. Hermione wondered how Draco knew, after only one afternoon of lovemaking, just what her body needed, when years with Anthony had taught him nothing at all. He continued to kiss and suck on her areolas until they almost hurt. The pain went from her breasts right to her core and she whimpered.

Draco shifted his position so that he was astride her, and his hands went to her hips, so that he could glide into her, slowly and surely. He lifted his hips, so that as he entered her, he stroked her clitoris with each small, slow movement.

He rocked his hips with the smallest of movements, so that each movement caused her nerves to compress, and her core to ache. He continued to move his hips in small circles, and she found breathing almost impossible. She bit down on his shoulder to keep from screaming. He said, "Merlin, Granger, don't scar me."

She moaned again and managed somehow to say, "Sorry, so sorry, oh please."

He could no longer respond. Neither could she, for they were both so close. He rocked harder and harder, and arched his back. Her head fell back on the pillow and she clenched her teeth. He brought his mouth down hard on hers, and she screamed her climax into his waiting mouth. They kissed each other hard as they both came. He jammed his body into her firmly. He finally removed his mouth from hers for the final arch of his back. She gasped loudly, and she felt the waves pummel her as she experienced the most awe-inspiring climax she had ever experienced in her entire life.

He collapsed on top of her, and rolled off quickly. "Help me, Granger; I have never had it that good before, and I don't know what to think." She turned her head away from him and shivered, and tried to will her body to stop quaking on the bed. He continued to look at her and he touched her face. He said, "Look at me. Don't you dare regret this, Granger."

She turned to look at him. He pulled the sheet up over them both. Hermione knew what she had to do. She said, "I don't regret anything, but this is the last time we can do that until after one of us wins the election."

Draco Malfoy sat up in Hermione Granger's bed, shocked and angry at what she had just said. Why the hell would she say something as stupid as that?


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 – Draco Makes Rules in Which Hermione has to Play**

(Present Day)

Draco didn't respond to Hermione's statement. He held her close to him, so there was no way for her to see the frown, but he was frowning. He was also trying to figure out why she would make that proclamation. What did it mean? Did it mean just no more sex for a month, or no seeing each other for a month? Instead of asking her, he held her. He would ignore that she even said such a thing. Perhaps she always made stupid statements after having mind-blowing sex. Perhaps she didn't have all her faculties at the moment.

However, when the grey morning light shone through her window, waking him from his slumber, and she was already gone, he realized she meant what she said. There was a note on the pillow. He read it and all it said was "I love you; I'm sorry, please wait for me." He balled the note in his fist and threw it across the room.

_Flashback:_

_Draco stood right before Hermione and told her to 'show him' his graduation present to her. Would she? Would she dare kiss him, no matter how chaste, here at her place of employment, the Ministry of Magic? She looked up at him, with those chocolate brown pools that she called eyes, whose depths he could be lost in forever, and she said one thing, "Go away, Malfoy."___

_He wanted to laugh. He did laugh. "Fine, Granger, don't show me, but you know, even though that was four months ago, I haven't forgotten that you have yet to give me a graduation present."___

_She sat back down at her desk and said, "Humph!"___

_"Is that Mudblood speak for 'it's in the mail'?" he asked.___

_"You better not use that word in the meeting today!" she scolded. He sat back down on her desk and swung his legs back and forth.___

_"Why ever not, it's a perfectly good word. There's nothing wrong with the word 'speak'," he joked.___

_"I meant 'Mudblood' you arse," she whispered. "My boss is Muggle-born, so he's liable to curse you if you say that word. He has a very short fuse."___

_"I'm not scared of him. What do you mean, a short fuse, though?" Draco asked.___

_"Well, he likes to yell at people. He finds fault easily, and he demands perfection. Just the other day I forgot a very important report during a meeting and I had to come back up here to get it, and after the meeting he yelled at me for a good half an hour," she said. She blushed and looked down.___

_Draco scowled. "He better not yell at you again if he knows what's good for him."___

_Hermione looked up and said, "What?" She was confused. What did Draco mean by that?___

_To cover for his faux pas, Draco said, "Doesn't he know that you're like the Minister's sister? That you helped defeat Voldemort. That you're a whiz with your wand?" And he wanted to add, 'and that I love you?', but he didn't.___

_Hermione said, "I'm not sure that matters, but he's still a good boss."___

_Draco jumped down from her desk and said, "I'll be back in time for our meeting. I'll let you prepare. See you later, Granger." As he walked away, she watched him and wondered what in the world all of that was about. Why did he continue to show up at the most inopportune times and why was it every time she saw him, her heart fluttered just a bit?_

_(Present Day)_

Monday came too soon for Hermione. On Saturday morning, Hermione woke before Draco and went to spend the weekend with her parents. She didn't want to face him, because she didn't know what to say to him. She knew she would have to face him soon enough, when the weekend was done. She just didn't expect it this early. She had just arrived at the Ministry, and there was Draco, as usual, in the lobby of the Ministry, with a gaggle of reporters hanging on to his every word. She tried to sneak past, but he said, "There she is now."

Hermione turned around and Draco and each reporter stared right at her. What had he done now? Draco walked over to her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to the crowd. He said, "I was just telling the dear reporters here that our debate is back on, and scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, in the conference room at my office. Isn't that right?"

She glared at him for a moment. She felt his hand tighten around her arm. She finally swallowed hard, accepted the fact that the game was back on, and plucked up her courage and said, "Yes, the debate is back on, so if you have any questions for me, they will have to wait until that time. Thank you." She removed her arm from his grasp, and went to the stairwell. She stood just inside and took a deep breath. If she was going to be involved in a debate with him in two days, she needed to prepare.

She started on the stairs, and as she reached the first landing, she heard the door to the stairwell open. She heard someone clapping, and his single applause echoed throughout the tall, hollow chamber. She looked down and saw Draco.

"Bravo, Granger. You made quite a nice little haste escape."

"Well, I wasn't exactly prepared to talk to a bunch of reporters this morning, was I?" she said sincerely.

"Oh, I meant Saturday morning, when you left me in bed all alone," he corrected.

She blinked twice and started back up the stairs. He ran up two at a time to catch up to her. As she reached the next floor's landing, he pushed her up against the wall.

"What does all this mean, Malfoy?" she asked. "Do we go back to fighting dirty?"

"Hell, Granger, you orchestrated this. This is what you make it," he replied.

She shook her head and said, "I still love you, I do, I just think we need to concentrate on the election."

"And that's what I am doing," he said. He pushed her up against the wall, his thigh placed between her legs, his chest against hers, and his hands flat on the wall on either side of her head. "You want to concentrate on the election, we shall." He placed his mouth near her ear as he spoke. "Concentrate, Granger," he said, as his tongue came out and licked her earlobe. He took his tongue and swiped a long lick up her neck, right on her pulse point. She shuddered. He looked back at her eyes and he saw a tear in the corner. He leaned forward and kissed the tear away.

"Don't cry, Granger. If you can't play with the big boys, best to get out of the game," he said in her ear. One hand came down and fondled her breast.

She pushed him away. "You're confusing me more. Now I'm beginning to wonder if you're just using me."

"If that was true, I would have already told the reporters and you know that," he said in anger, as he released her. He was angry with her, but just as angry with himself. He didn't like humiliating her. He hated when he did things like that. She sat down on the stairs and hung her head. He said, "Just concede already, and we can find a deserted office and shag."

She looked up at him and she said, "You're so crude. I don't want to forfeit. Don't you see, Malfoy? There's so much inequality in our world, and I want to do something about that, and I can't unless I have the power of change behind me, and I can only have that power in the office of the Minister of Magic."

His expression softened for a moment and he took her hand. "I can't offer you a fair fight, Granger, and I'm afraid when this is all over, you won't still want me."

"Why can't you fight fair?" she asked.

"I don't know how, and frankly, I don't want to. How I wish someone like Goldstein was running instead of you. I could put him on a stake and flame his arse good." He laughed. She smiled.

"I just don't want you to stop loving me," she said.

"Granger, I have loved you for so long now, that I can guarantee that would be an impossibility, but the real worry here, is that you shall stop loving me, because that is brand new. You hated me for so long, and it would be so easy for you to fall back into that," he said remorsefully. He kissed her hand.

"I haven't really hated you, not really, not ever. When I think about things, try to examine them more closely, I realized that I've probably loved you for a long time as well, and I'm not even sure when that started. It's just that you vex me so much!" She laughed again.

"I am quite vexing," he agreed. He stood up and said, "The outline for the debate stands as before, if you need a new copy, Owl my office. If not, I shall see you Wednesday, if I can't think of a way to sneak around and see you before, that is." He headed toward the door and looked back. She remained on the stairs, leaned against the wall, and to all appearances, she already seemed defeated.

He walked back over to her, and picked her up by her arms. His hand came to her face, and with soft fingertips he traced her jaw, as his thumb rubbed back and forth. He leaned in and kissed her lips gently. His mouth was warm, wet, and welcoming. He parted his mouth slightly, forcing hers apart. He deepened the kiss, as her hands went to his shoulders. He pressed her against the wall, and left her mouth, his body still pressed against hers.

He said, "Yes, I shall have to think of a reason to see you again before then."

"But, Draco, this is what I mean. This type of thing, this kissing, here right now, we shouldn't do it again until after the election," she said.

"Granger, I thought I made it clear, we will follow your little edict, and play your little game, but by all that is holy, I shall play by my rules," he claimed. He left her against the wall, and without a backwards glance, went through the door at the landing. She went up the rest of the stairs and straight to her office, to try to prepare for the debate.

_(Flashback)___

_Hermione and her boss, a Muggle-born named Howard Spine, was sitting in the small lounge in their department, preparing for their meeting with Draco Malfoy. Hermione sat on the couch and Mr. Spine on a chair beside it. He said, "When we get to the conference room, Hermione, you start the meeting. Be sure not to let Malfoy run the show. I hear he likes to do that, and we need to show him who's in charge."___

_"Yes, Sir." She smiled. Overall, though he was a tough boss, Hermione liked Howard. He was old enough to be her father, in fact, he had seven children, and Hermione thought he was still good looking, and he seemed very devoted to his wife, children, and grandchild. He could just be a tyrant sometimes, and most of the staff feared him. Hermione didn't fear him and he seemed to respect that. He even told her that though she was young, when he retired in two years, he wanted to train her to take over his job, even though there were people in their department more qualified and with more seniority.___

_One of their fellow co-workers came in the lounge and said, "Draco Malfoy is already here, and headed this way." The man no sooner got the words out when Draco came walking in the door. ___

_Hermione and Mr. Spine both stood, and Mr. Spine said, "Mr. Malfoy, we weren't expecting to hold our meeting here in our lounge. We have a conference room set up."___

_"No, I like it here, let's hold our meeting here," he said. Mr. Spine gave Hermione a knowing look as if to say, 'see, he's setting the tone already'.___

_Hermione said, "Really, Mr. Malfoy, we would be more comfortable in the conference room, so shall we?" She motioned toward the door with her hand. Draco sat down on the couch. Hermione looked at Mr. Spine. He glared at her. He was waiting to see what she would do. She turned back toward Draco and said, "To the conference room." She walked toward the door. She opened the door. Mr. Spine started toward the door. Draco crossed his legs and became more comfortable.___

_Mr. Spine huffed, looked at Hermione, leaned in, and whispered, "Bullheaded little bugger, isn't he?" Hermione smiled. They both went back into the room and sat down.___

_Mr. Spine started talking first. Draco draped his arm across the back of the couch. His fingers skimmed Hermione's shoulder, lightly, as his hand went under her hair, to rest on the nape of her neck. She couldn't be sure if Mr. Spine could see or not, but she thought not, since he continued to talk.___

_Draco began to argue his side, even as his fingertips toyed with the hair at the base of her skull. The slightest touch that sent shivers down her spine, as Mr. Spine listened to him intently.___

_"Well, Miss Granger here will tell you why that will be impossible, Hermione?" Howard said.___

_"Yes?"___

_"Tell him," her boss said.___

_Hermione wasn't paying attention, so she fumbled through her folder. She dropped it and she reached down for it, Draco reached down as well. His hand skimmed her calf as he helped her pick up her papers. When she sat back up, her boss was frowning. She turned toward Draco but Mr. Spine was already talking again. She looked back at her boss and tried very hard to concentrate as Draco's hand went to her neck again, this time his thumb rubbed her neck, just small movements, back and forth. This time, when Draco tried to get a point across, she was ready, and refuted his claims. When the meeting was finally over, her boss told Draco that he had made some good points, and that they would decide the matter by next week, and get back with him.___

_They all three stood. Draco shook Mr. Spine's hand, and then Hermione's hand. He held Hermione's hand a bit too long, in her opinion. Mr. Spine left the room, turned back, and said, "Miss Granger will walk out with you, Mr. Malfoy. Good day."___

_Hermione, whose hand was still grasped by Draco, pulled her hand from his and said, "What was all that about?"___

_"Trade embargo, are you slow?" he asked.___

_"No, I mean, you didn't let us set the pace for the meeting, and he told before me before the meeting not to let you get the upper hand, and yet I did, and now there will be hell to pay. He'll probably bawl me out for a good hour after this. Also, what was with all the touching?"___

_Draco frowned. "If he bawls you out, you let me know straight away, won't you?"___

_She stomped her foot like a child and said, "Seriously, Malfoy, is that all you heard? You drive me insane! Sometimes I think I hate you! I really, really hate you!"___

_He smiled and said, "Oh, silly little thing, I know you do, but I love you." He touched her face, laughed and said, "I can show myself out. Goodbye, Granger."___

_Even though no one was around to see, she stomped her foot again and went back to her desk._

(Present Day)

Hermione arrived at her office just as Anthony had arrived. He said, "Are we okay?"

"Yes, we have to be, because I have a debate to get ready for, and an election to win," she said even as she smiled. They walked in her office and she told him all about the weekend, with Blaise, and Draco, and the all the sordid details.

He said, "I think all things considering, you made the right choice to put off the relationship until after the election. And we won't let him get the upper hand. I'll arrange a news conference today, and let the media know that we're no longer together, in fact, I'll come out today. How about that? That's good for the honesty thing, and might even garner you some sympathy, and better yet, we'll announce it before we give him a chance to do so. Now, do you still have your speech?"

"Anthony, you don't have to come out publicly just for me." She sighed.

"It'll be for me, too, you know." He smiled back. He hugged her and said, "It's something I should have done a long time ago, and for both of us. It's going to be okay, Hermione. We can still win this thing, and in the long run, isn't that what's important?"

As Hermione remained in his warm embrace, she wondered about that statement. Was that what was important? Was it?


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 – Hermione Learns that Draco Really Does Fight Dirty**

Present Day:

"Help me, help me, help me!" she mumbled to herself. She was in front of the mirror in the bathroom at Malfoy's office building, and she had just splashed cold water on herself. She felt like screaming out of frustration. Perhaps if she screamed, someone would think she was hurt and they would let her off easy today.

Then again, probably not.

She had spent every waking moment of the last two days preparing for this debate and for the reporter's questions. She was so afraid of Malfoy showing up unexpectedly and making her more nervous the last two days that she went to her parents' house again. She knew he knew where they lived, but she didn't think he would show up there, and he didn't. She almost wished he had.

There was a knock on the door. Hermione looked around the bathroom. She was the only inhabitant, and there were five empty stalls. Why would someone knock on a public restroom door? There was another knock. She went up to the swinging door and opened it slightly. Harry Potter was outside. She pulled him inside the bathroom by his shirt, threw her arms around his neck, and jumped in his arms.

"OH, Harry, help me!" she said.

He could not help but laugh. "How?" he asked, setting on feet on the floor. "Is there an evil plunger in here attacking you?"

Before she could answer his stupid question, another person knocked on the door. She said, "What in the world." She opened the door again, and Anthony was out there. She grabbed him and pulled him in as well.

"Hermione, are you almost ready?" he asked.

She began to pace back and forth and said, "I don't think I can do this. It's not going to turn out well, I just know it."

"I know another thing that won't turn out well, Hermione," Harry started. She turned to look at him. "If the press catches Anthony and me in the woman's room with you, you might have a lot of explaining to do, especially as Anthony just revealed his sexual preference to the press yesterday."

Hermione glowered at Anthony, pushed him hard on the chest with both hands, and said, "Why did you have to do that before the debate?"

"Better than during," he laughed. "Come on, we have to go."

Another knock at the door.

"Seriously!" Hermione said. "Tell whoever it is to go away, unless they're a verifiable woman. I have to use the loo before the debate." Hermione walked in one of the stalls, and sat down. She didn't really have to go, so there was no reason to pull down her hose and her knickers. She sat there, on the toilet seat, and soon she heard muffled voices. She heard Anthony and Harry both call out their goodbyes. She heard them leave. She heard the water running. She heard someone drying their hands. She tensed up when she heard the sounds of footsteps on the tile floor. She heard the footsteps stop right in front of her door. She bent at the waist, and saw two black shoes, men's, under the door.

She sat back up and became tense once more. Was it a reporter? Was it a man who wanted to hurt her? Was it the evil plunger Harry had warned her about or worse, was it…?

"Hello, Granger," Draco said as he got down on all fours and looked under the stall at her.

"Draco Malfoy, I could be using the facilities right now," she scolded.

"Yes, well, I had to take the chance, and if you gave me a peek show, all the better. Listen, I bribed, I mean, I asked Anthony and Pothead to leave us alone for a moment, because I have to talk to you in private. May I get up off the floor?" he asked as he stared up at her.

She nodded and stood. She unlatched the door and opened it. He surprised her when he came in the stall and pushed her back so he could latch the door again. "My, the lady's room around here is very nice indeed. Perhaps I pamper my employees too much," he said, as he looked around.

Hermione snickered and said, "Yes, three ply toilet paper, you spoil them so, will wonders never cease. What do you want, Malfoy?"

"You." He put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her toward him. She put her hands on his chest. All she could think was 'please not now.'

_Flashback:___

_Sitting all alone on a park bench, on an autumn afternoon, shivering because the afternoon sun was behind dark, grey clouds, Hermione Granger felt sad and alone. She had broken up with Anthony again, she hoped for the last time. She was yelled at by her boss because HE gave her the wrong dates for some meetings, and when she scheduled the meetings for the dates HE gave her, and they were wrong, he told her it was HER job as HIS assistant to know what he meant, not what he said. What? Worse, the Minister sided with Draco Malfoy's company and lifted the ban on trade that he was pushing for, and somehow, her whole department blamed that on her as well, because after all, she was close to the Minister, and she should have foreseen this happening, and oh yes, wasn't she and Malfoy friends? They weren't friends, were they?___

_Moreover, she was not a bloody seer! She didn't own a damn crystal ball! Contrary to popular belief, she didn't know everything!___

_Therefore, she left work early, feigning a headache, which was now reality. Since she didn't want to go home to her little cottage, which was bare, because she still hadn't decorated it with anything but a bed and one chair, she decided to come to this park, eat some biscuits, drink some hot chocolate, and wallow, wallow, wallow, in her grief.___

_She was lonely.___

_As stupid as that was to admit, she was. That was why she kept getting back together with Anthony. She was lonely. Her friends were busy all the time, as were her parents. She was as well, but more out of desperation then necessity. She didn't even have anyone in which to tell her troubles. ___

_She started to break off pieces of her last biscuit to throw to some pigeons, when she saw a pair of black shoes. Men's shoes. She looked up and saw Draco Malfoy. Without saying another word, she threw the rest of the biscuit on the ground, left her purse on the bench, stood up, and without warning, she threw her arms around his neck.___

_He was dumbstruck. He patted her back, and in his surprise he said, "Is this my long awaited graduation present, because I would like to remind you that I gave you a kiss."___

_She started to cry. She removed her arms from around his neck, but remained standing in front of him. She put her hands on his chest and buried her head in the lapel of his coat. He stopped the pretense of patting her back, and threw both his arms around her. "What's wrong, Granger?" he cooed softly, stroking her hair.___

_She could not articulate why she was having a bad day, it was just that sometimes, certain days were not as lovely as others were, and so she was crying. End of story. She continued to cry, and he continued to hold her. He really did not know what to do or say. They got a few strange looks from passersby. He said, "Move along folks, nothing to see here but a hysterical female."___

_That made her smile and she lifted her head. She stepped away from him and sat back on the bench. She wiped the tears from her cheeks. He sat beside her and said, "Let me guess. You broke up with your stupid, little boyfriend again?"___

_"And…" she led, sniffling.___

_"Okay and you had a bad day at work…." he continued.___

_"And…" she said again.___

_"And you have decided that you really did want that biscuit you threw down for the birds, because chocolate chip is your favourite, but you can't bring yourself to eat off the ground." He was grasping for straws. There could not be anymore 'ands'.___

_"And…."___

_"Another and?" he asked her. She nodded. "Okay, let me think hard. Oh, I have it, and you just realized that your shoes really don't go with your skirt."___

_"That's right!" She smiled.___

_She straightened out her legs, to lift them off the ground, so she could look down at her shoes. He said, "They aren't the best shoes in the world, but they aren't that bad. Nothing to cry about, anyway."___

_"I guess not," she grinned. "I really was having a rotten day. I got yelled at by my boss, the whole staff is against me, because I didn't anticipate the Minister of Magic siding with your company, Anthony and I broke up again, and I can't even go home and wallow in my own house like a normal person because I have lived there for almost five months and I don't even own a couch. I haven't had time to buy anything, or the funds." She looked down at her shoes again. She finally realized that only moment before she had thrown herself at her archenemy. She said, "I hope I didn't get snot on your jacket. Sorry about that."___

_He frowned slightly and looked at his jacket. He pointed to a place and said, "Is that a bogey?" She leaned over and looked at the spot where he pointed. He brought his index finger up to her nose and tweaked it. "Gotcha," he said. They both laughed. "Let's go shopping, Granger. Buy you a couch or something. Shopping makes the world go round, and makes people happy."___

_"You have to have money to go shopping," she said.___

_"I have lots of that stuff," he said, standing.___

_"I don't," she whined, "Which is another reason to cry, I'm afraid."___

_"Borrow some from me," he responded. "Strictly a loan, of course," he added.___

_"Well, I can't really do that, but, I do have this," she said. She pulled a plastic card out of her purse.___

_"What's that?" he asked.___

_"That's my dad's credit card. My mum gave it to me last week when she saw that I didn't have anything in my house. She told me to go wild and get whatever I wanted, but I felt too guilty to take her up on it."___

_"How guilty do you feel right now?" he asked with a smirk.___

_"Not guilty at all, Malfoy. Let's go shopping, on my dad." She stood up, laughed, and he offered her his arm. She took it, threw her trash in the trash bin, and they walked down the sidewalk, together._

Present Day

"Draco, now is not the right time. I'm a nervous wreck about the debate, and someone could come in here," she pleaded. He started to kiss her face, with little, soft kisses.

He said, "We," kiss, "are safe," another kiss, "the door," kiss, kiss, "is magically sealed," kiss, kiss, kiss.

She hummed in the back of her throat and felt like melting. He continued his parade of small kisses on her face and neck, his left hand held her back, and he pressed her up against the wall of the small toilet stall. His right hand went down and pulled up her skirt. When his fingers brushed the silkiness of her stockings he whispered, "Please tell me these are NOT pantyhose."

"They are," she said breathlessly.

He kissed the hollow of her throat, parting her shirt with his hands. He brought both hands around to unbutton her blouse and said, "Granger, they make these lovely things called garters and stockings. Try them sometimes. I'll even take pity on you and buy you some. They are much less cumbersome. They don't get in the way." He reached up and took her jacket off her shoulders, and hung it on the hook on the door. He then took off the blouse he had just unbuttoned. He took off his jacket and hung it on top of them both.

"What are we doing?" she asked, trying to push him away.

"Well, if you didn't have fucking pantyhose on, we would be having a quickie, but as it is, we will have to make do," he said, in hushed tones, as he took his shirt off and draped it over the door.

He unbuttoned his pants. She said, "No, Malfoy, not now, I'm a nervous wreck!"

"This will relax you," he said. He kneaded her breasts over her bra and kissed her ample cleavage.

She said, "That does feel nice."

"Of course it does," he said with a grin. He turned around, took his wand out of his jacket, and said, "Goodbye, pantyhose. Wait, once I vanish them, I cannot use magic to bring them back. You don't have a special fondness for this certain pair of pantyhose do you?"

"Oh for goodness sakes," she said. She took his wand, vanished her own pantyhose and said, "Stop talking so much!"

He hiked one of her legs over his hip and rocked against her. She moaned in his mouth as he kissed her savagely. He said, "Damn, you still have knickers on. Why vanish one thing and not the other."

"These come off easily enough, and I might need them later," she argued, her leg still over his hip.

"I think you might win the debate if you keep them off. It might distract me," he said, pushing one bra cup down to kiss her nipple.

"I really would rather just take them off," she answered. Her hands roamed his chest and she bit down on his neck.

"I'm just saying, it could be an easier win for you," he mumbled, his mouth busy at her chest. He removed her bra.

"Must we start our debate now?" she asked.

He said, "Oh, right." He reached around and pulled her knickers down. He unzipped her skirt, pulled it down, and threw it on the floor with her knickers. Soon she was completely naked in front of him, not counting her shoes. She reached in his unzipped pants and started to stroke his penis. She couldn't believe she was being so daring. He threw his blond head back, it hit the stall wall, and he gasped.

She pulled and then stroked, up and down. She pulled his pants down and they pooled around his ankles. She pulled down his boxers and while one hand pulled on his erection, her other hand went under and palmed his sac. He banged his head against the wall again, and again. "Stop, Granger." He moaned again. "Really, stop," he said again. She stopped and looked at him as if she did something wrong.

"Merlin, woman, don't stop. Sorry, I wasn't aware of my protest. For future reference, when you have your hands, or any other part of your anatomy, on my member, and I yell things like 'no' and 'stop' I mean 'yes' and 'go', okay?" She smiled and he smiled after her and he kissed her hard as she continued with her previous task. He felt obliged to do the same, and he fingered her until she was wet and ready.

When he was hard, long, and about to burst, he took her hands from him and put them over her head. He told her to grasp the wall. She put her hands back on the top of the stall wall. He hoisted her up on his hips, and down on his member, his hands tight around her waist. He pumped into her hard, and she let go of the wall and had to hold onto his shoulders for support. He continued his assault, and she held onto his neck for dear life.

"Am I too heavy?" she asked, breathlessly.

"Please, stop talking during sex, it's irritating," he grunted.

"You're talking," she said and then she moaned.

"I'm only pointing out that you're talking," he said. He groaned.

"But why is it okay for you," she took a deep breath, "to talk," squeal, "and not for me," three short exhales of breath, "too?"

"HERMIONE, please shut the fuck up!" he said as he came.

He forged on until she too came and even saw stars. They held onto each other, chests heaving, sweating, sticky and totally spent. He took his wand, cleaned them both up, and then handed her, her clothing. He opened the stall door, and stood with it propped open as they both dressed.

Finally, he said, "Was that your plan to win the debate, make he all tired and horny?"

"Excuse me, Malfoy," she said, buttoning her blouse. "You were horny to start with, or this wouldn't have happened. You came in here and started all of this, and frankly, I usually need a nap after sex, so I would say you have used this to your advantage. I will probably fall asleep out there at the podium."

He leaned toward her as he straightened his tie and he kissed her cheek and said, "Damn you are onto my little plan."

She cupped his cheek and said, "Do go easy on me out there, Malfoy."

"I can't, it's a fight, you know that, I can't show you favouritism just because I'm having sex with you," he said.

"How about because you love me," she said seriously. She waited for his reply.

"Damn it, Granger, don't try to emotionally blackmail me." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and said, "See you out there." He went to the door, and looked back. She was back in the stall, door closed. He walked back to the door and knocked. "Are you peeing?"

"No," she said softly. He thought that 'no' sounded sad.

"I do love you," he said. He put his hands on the door. "I won't use anything dirty against you, if I can help it, I do promise you that. I will try really hard not to, at least." There was no response. He said, "Granger, did you hear me?"

"I love you, too, Malfoy. I hope I can believe you, too."

"I hope so, too," he agreed. She opened the door and gave him a sad smile.

He said, "I best go out there first, see you at the podium."

He left and she went back to the mirror. She looked in it once more and said again, "Help me."

_Flashback:_

_Draco escorted Hermione to her house. She opened the door and put down her packages. His hands were full as well, and he placed the bags he was carrying on the floor next to hers. He looked around and said, "I think the couch you bought will look real nice in this room." ___

_She said, "So will the chair you talked me into buying. Thanks for helping me to the door." She stayed by the open door, so he took that as his clue to leave. He did not want to press his luck. She had not told him she hated him once today, and he liked that. ___

_He went to the door and crossed the threshold. He said, "I'll see you around, Granger. I had a nice afternoon. You didn't say you hated me once today."___

_"Well, you didn't give me a reason to, and you didn't say you loved me once today," she laughed back. ___

_He leaned toward her and said, "Just because I didn't say it, doesn't mean it isn't true."___

_She leaned forward as well and said, "Ditto." ___

_He laughed and said, "Way to ruin my afternoon, Granger. I guess I should respond with my usual response, but instead, I'll cut my losses and say, farewell."___

_"Bye, Malfoy." She shut the door and started to unload her bags, happy with her purchases, and with the company she kept today._

Present Day:

Hermione was handling most of the questions with ease. So far, nothing was too hard and she seemed well prepared. She gave her opening remarks, and then he gave his. She pointed out her plans, he gave a brief rebuttal, and then she did the same to him. The moderator began to ask the scripted questions, and so far, she answered them all with ease. They opened the floor to random questions from the reporters on the floor, and then things got a bit hairy.

The first question was about Anthony's announcement. She just said that her personal life and the personal life's of her friends were just that, 'personal' and she hoped everyone would respect that. When the same reporter asked Draco what he thought about the whole thing, he laughed and said, "Frankly, I always knew he was gay. I had reports from my camp that their relationship was false from the beginning. I know they were constantly off and on for years."

The reporter said, "Do you think she knew he was gay? Do you think she was using him to perhaps cover for her own sexual persuasion, or perhaps to hide the fact that she's alone?"

Draco smiled at the reporter, looked at Hermione and said, "In my opinion, I'm not sure how someone couldn't have known that their partner of eight years or so was gay. I mean, if they were not above pretending to date, then I'm sure she must have known about his preferences. As to her being gay, well," he looked over at her, "you never know, as far as I know, she's not openly dating anyone right now, at least no one she's acknowledging." He felt that went well. He even felt he told the truth, even if he did skew it a bit.

Hermione frowned, the reporter smiled, and soon other reporters were holding their hands up. 'Why did he say that?' she wondered. Hermione was seething. Without waiting for another question, she said, "I can guarantee that I did not know about Anthony being gay, but as his close friend, I totally support him. If I was gay, I would not be ashamed to admit it, so you can rest assure that I am not. Yes, Anthony and I have dated off and on for many years, but there was no duplicity there. We just weren't compatible and for obvious reasons, now that I think about it. Don't you all agree?" She smiled and laughed. Most of the gallery applauded and laughed with her.

Draco looked over at her and sneered. 'She's good,' he thought.

"Miss Granger, over here," a reporter said. She nodded to the man. He said, "Many people assume you're using your connections with Harry Potter and the current Minister to further your career, and that you really shouldn't have been considered for the position in the first place. In fact, wasn't the Ministry ready to just hand you the job before Mr. Malfoy threw his hat in the ring?"

"That's nonsense, Mark. You've known me for years. You know I work hard, and that I would never use my friends or my relationships to further my career. I am here solely on merit."

Draco laughed. He said, "Yes Mark, merit only, except, ask her how she got her present job as undersecretary, when her boss retired, even though there were a vast number of people more qualified, and with more seniority. Ask her. Or, ask me, I know the story well enough."

Hermione glared at him. He wouldn't dare tell that story, would he?


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 – Draco Tells Hermione he Hates Her, He Really, Really Does**

_Flashback:_

_"What are you up to Hermione?" Mr. Spine asked as he leaned in the doorway.___

_Hermione, who had been working late, assumed she was all alone in the office, and was startled when her boss spoke to her. She was in the conference room in her department, working on a proposal that the Minister was to present to the Wizengamot the next day, and she was tired, so very tired, but she wanted to make sure everything was perfect with the proposal.___

_"Oh, Mr. Spine, you scared me. I'm working on Minister Weasley's proposal for the new law to protect Muggle-borns against discrimination in the workplace. I want everything to be in place, so all goes well for him tomorrow."___

_"Yes, well, it's very late, and you should get home. I'll clean up here," he said. He noticed one of the piece of parchments that she had been working on and said, "Very thorough work here, Hermione, you should be proud. I know you've worked hard on this."___

_"It's near and dear to my heart, and I couldn't be more pleased that Percy is trying to put anti-Muggle-born discrimination into law," she said.___

_"Being Muggle-born, I feel the same," he said with a smile. "Still, you've worked on this for weeks, and it's time to go home. It's perfect just the way it is."___

_"Do you know what time he's to present this? Last I heard, the time had changed twice," she said, standing and straightening her piles.___

_"Last I heard it was 8:00 am, I think," he said. ___

_"Are you sure it's 8:00 am? I really thought it had been changed back to 10:00 am," she said.___

_He looked confused for a moment, and said, "I know it was 10:00 am in the beginning, and I might be getting forgetful in my old age, but I'm fairly certain it's been changed to 8:00 am. However, if you say its 10:00 am, you're probably right. Now, go get some rest, and since the meeting isn't until 10:00, sleep in tomorrow, but be here no later than 8:30, okay? Now, give me the papers, and I'll go ahead and take them to Percy's office, that way, we will be sure he sees them in the morning."___

_"Sounds like a plan, and I am very tired," she admitted. She picked up all her papers and said, "But, I think I'll take these papers home with me, and just give them one more look. I'll bring them in before the meeting. I promise."___

_"Give them here; I don't mind dropping them by his office. I told you they're fine. You go on to bed," he insisted.___

_She started to hand him the papers, but she suddenly got an unsettling thought. What if he tried to take the glory for all her work? She smiled, and said, "I really would feel better having one more look at them. I'll bring them in by 8:30 at the latest, which gives Percy plenty of time before the 10:00 am session." He nodded his agreement, and she went home and went to bed.___

_She arrived at the Ministry at 8:30 am. As soon as she walked in the department, she could tell something was amiss. One of her co-workers came up to her and said, "My god, Hermione, where have you been?"___

_"Home," she said confused. "Why? What's wrong?" she asked the man.___

_"Mr. Spine is on the warpath. The Minister of Magic was to present the anti-Muggle-born discrimination act to the Wizengamot this morning at 8:00 am, and Mr. Spine was supposed to get all the papers to the Minister last night, but he said you took them home, so he couldn't give them to Percy, and Percy couldn't present the proposal. The session has already started, so it's too late to interrupt now. He also said that you told him the meeting had changed from 8:00 am to 10:00 am. The proposal will now have to be put back on the docket, and it cannot be presented until next session, in three months!"___

_Hermione's hands went to her mouth. "NO! I worked until eleven last night and all the papers were ready. Mr. Spine wanted to take them to Percy's office last night, but I took them home. I thought I would get them here in plenty of time! I also really thought the time had been changed again. They had already changed it twice. He told me it was 8:00 am, but I told him no!"___

_"Well, you were wrong, and I guess since you told Mr. Spine the wrong time, he's blaming everything on you. He thought he had time to get the Minister the paperwork this morning, and while he was waiting for you to come in with the paperwork, the session had already started. He's angrier than I've ever seen him. He said he's going to fire all of us! You better go tell Percy what really happened," her coworker warned.___

_Hermione dashed down the hall, and ran right into Percy himself. "Hermione, what happened? Why didn't you get me that paperwork?"___

_"I did, I mean, Mr. Spine wanted to get it to you last night, but I took it home to look it over one last time! Oh, Percy, it's my fault! I took it home even after Mr. Spine said we should take it to your office last night. If we had just done that, it wouldn't have even mattered that I told him the wrong time! It is my fault! He also told me that the session was eight am, and I told him it was at ten! Percy, I'm so sorry!" Hermione said desperately. ___

_Percy smiled at her and said, "I can clearly see that you're sorry, but Howard still should have gotten the papers to me last night. He's the boss, and in the end, the responsibility is his. He has worked as my undersecretary for ten years. I mean, he didn't give me the packet, and I didn't get a chance to look it over, but now there is no hurry since we can't present it for another three months." Percy took her arm and led her next to the wall, and in hushed tones said, "He said he told you the time for the session was eight am sharp, and you disputed that and told him it was ten. He thinks you did this purposely, because you're after his job."___

_Hermione felt like crying. Mr. Spine, while sometimes a tyrant, had always seemed to be an honest, forthright man, and now he was in trouble and it was all her fault! Why would he think she wanted to sabotage him? Percy said, "He asked for permission to fire you over this."___

_"I'm fired?" she asked.___

_"No, I told him I had to talk to you first," Percy said. "Let me go talk to him, by myself, and see if I can calm him down. I don't want you fired. Everyone makes mistakes, and you're young, so believe me, this won't be your first. Listen, it is not the end of the world. This is solid work, and it will make it into law, it will just take a bit longer, that's all."___

_Hermione could only nod. "Go home, right now, Hermione. I'll contact you, later okay. Don't worry. Howard's angry, but his anger won't last."___

_Hermione did as the Minister requested, but after a few hours she was so on edge that she felt compelled to go back to the Ministry. She headed back to her department, when she ran into Draco Malfoy. It had been six months since they had gone shopping together, and she had not seen him since, so she was somewhat surprised to see him.___

_He smiled at her and said, "Here to cause more trouble, Granger?"___

_"Pardon?" she said.___

_"I heard what you did," he said as he pointed his finger at her.___

_"What did I do?" she asked.___

_"You got Mr. Spine fired just so you could take his job, you tricky little thing. You will be the youngest Undersecretary to the Minister ever," he said, as he leaned against the wall, arms folded, and a smug look on his face.___

_"Where do you get your information?" she asked, distraught. "Percy fired Howard?"___

_"Like you didn't know, and I have people," he said, "and they tell me things. Spine left over an hour ago. I came here to congratulate you."___

_"I didn't get him fired!" Hermione said, in despair. "Why would Percy fire him?" She leaned on the wall next to him. "He told Percy that he wanted to fire me, because I told him the wrong time for the Wizengamot session, but Percy told me not to worry, I wouldn't lose my job, but why fire him? I have to go talk to Percy, make him understand that if anyone loses their jobs over this, it should be me, not Mr. Spine!"___

_"So it's true? You and your connections saved your little neck!" Draco exclaimed. He clapped his hands and said, "Hot, damn, Granger. You are devious, aren't you? You would do anything to get ahead, I suppose. I should hire you to work for me. Still, how did you go from almost being fired to having your boss fired?"___

_"I didn't do anything!" she said with a stomp of her foot. She ran to her office, with Draco on her tail. When she entered, everyone stared at her. Some people gave her sad little smiles, but most of them looked angry. She started toward Mr. Spine's office, and saw that her name had already been painted on the door. She ran right to Percy's office.___

_When she came out of Percy's office, Draco was still there, waiting for her.___

_"Why are you still here?" she spat.___

_"Oh, I'm here for the fun of it, Miss Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic," he laughed.___

_She pushed him and said, "SHUT UP!"___

_"How did you do it?" he asked.___

_"I didn't do anything. He apparently told the Minister that it was his fault that the folder didn't get to him, and if he had taken it to him last night, the way he had planned, then it wouldn't have mattered what time the meeting was, because Percy would have been prepared. He took the full blame and the Minister believed him, and he was sacked, because Percy said someone had to take the fall. He said he would make sure Howard got his full retirement. I didn't ask for any of this to happen, and I told Percy I don't even want the job, but he said I have no choice, because he doesn't trust anyone else, and that Mr. Spine even suggested that I take the job."___

_"Whatever," he said. "Make it sound all noble and everything. I think you orchestrated this whole thing! Ambition is not a dirty word, Granger. It's okay to be ambitious! It's more than okay, its normal."___

_Hermione turned around and said, "I'm not being ambitious! It's the truth, Malfoy! I should have been fired, not him."___

_"Listen, Granger, I think it's admirable of you to try to take the blame, but you deserve this job. Now, stop being a little mouse and show me how cutthroat you can be when you want to be," Draco teased. "Truthfully, I never knew you had it in you."___

_"I didn't do anything! I just did my job! I worked hard and told the truth, and I made an erroneous error, and yet somehow I was rewarded for it!" she said.___

_"Blah, how boring! I'm losing my admiration for you by the seconds. Just admit that you worked hard to get that bastard's job," he said.___

_"Oh, I don't care if you believe me or not, Malfoy, so never mind. Get the hell out of here!" She pointed toward the lifts.___

_"Undersecretary for five minutes and it's already gone to your head," he laughed.___

_She pushed him and said, "I hate you, Malfoy!" She walked back to her department, looked at all the staff and said, "Well, apparently I'm the new boss around here, so everyone get to work and if you have a problem with me, there's the door, you may leave at anytime!" She walked to her new office and slammed the door so hard that the window, which had her freshly painted name on it, shattered into hundreds of pieces, for the first of many times._

Present Day:

Hermione froze at the podium. Why was Draco bringing up this old, tired story? Did he still think that she somehow orchestrated to get Mr. Spine fired so she could steal his job? Did he really believe that? Did everyone else?

She looked out at the sea of reporters, and everyone was staring right at her, waiting for her answer.

She said, "I don't know what Mr. Malfoy is alluding to, but if Mr. Malfoy has a story to tell, I think he should enlighten us. I would be happy to hear it as well, since I'm not sure to what he is referring. Please, Mr. Malfoy, elaborate, we're all waiting." She smiled sweetly and willed herself to remain calm.

Draco smirked. He never really believed she did anything treacherous or deceitful to get her present job. Even back in the day, he only said those things to her to get her dander up. The fact that she told him to tell the story caught him off guard. He had hoped she would stammer, and trip over her words, and would profess her innocence with such passion, that everyone would assume she had a guilty conscience and had something to hide. Well, wasn't this lovely. The whole damn thing was backfiring on him. He thought that he could play her game, so he said, "I think the ability to get what you want is a commendable trait in a candidate, Miss Granger. Don't be bashful; you tell the story, you're so much more eloquent than I am."

"But I really don't know what story you mean, so please, the podium is all yours. If you have a story to tell, you shouldn't be ashamed to tell it. We all are waiting," she answered.

He smiled and said, "I just think that merit and hard work are traits to be admired, but who you know helps a great deal as well, at least in your case, don't you think?"

Hermione looked out at the reporters and said, "Coming from the son of the CEO of Malfoy Global International," she turned to look at him and continued, "I'm not sure you are the epitome of hard work and merit. Does the fact that this is Daddy's company have anything to do with your vice president, title, Mr. Malfoy?"

Everyone laughed.

Draco sneered and decided it would be best to ignore her attempts to jab at the old nepotism thing. Everyone already knew that was why he had his job. He thought, 'if she wants it dirty…' and he said, "It's just that some people will do anything to get a job. I understand you got your current position as Undersecretary by using your friendship with Minister Weasley, and by orchestrating the ousting of your then boss. Did you or did you not lie to him about the time for a very important meeting, thereby obtaining his firing?" Draco smirked and looked out at the audience, nodded once, and thought, 'so there'.

"Again, I don't know where you get your facts, but I didn't even ask for this job. In fact, when my old boss left his job, he told the Minister to promote me to his position. For that reason, I highly doubt that I orchestrated anything to get this job, however, now that I have it, I have worked hard the last five years to do a good job for the Ministry and the people, and their thanks are my just rewards. Unlike some people, Malfoy, I work hard for what I have. I don't have things handed to me," she said back. She crossed her arms.

"No, you just use your reputation as Harry Potter's friend and a war hero to get positions that you don't even deserve. How is it that out of fifty-four graduates at your university, you were the only one to get an internship at the Ministry?" he asked.

The reporters all went from looking at Draco back to Hermione. It was like watching a tennis match, back and forth.

"I put in for the job, and I got it. I had good grades, so I deserved first pick of internships, and I picked the Ministry, because I wanted to do some good," she leveled. "How did you get your job here, did Daddy not have any other children to promote? What did the job description say, 'must have blonde hair, grey eyes, be a pureblood, and the only perquisite is that you have to be a Malfoy. Only those named Draco need apply'?" she inquired.

Some of the reporters in the gallery laughed. Draco, however, was not amused.

All eyes went back to Draco.

"You only started at the Ministry to do some good, you say? Is that really the story you want to stick with? Nonsense. You wanted the chance to make everyone bow down to the greatest know-it-all of all time. You don't care about doing well, and you didn't deserve your internship, you don't deserve your present job, and you certainly don't deserve to be Minister of Magic! You're only where you are because you're Harry Potter's best friend, end of story!" He felt he made his point.

"And I helped fight Voldemort! I helped Harry, along with Ron, at every turn, fighting Death Eaters, like your dear old dad! I was the brightest student at Hogwarts, and if we were not so busy saving our world, I would have graduated in the number one spot! I did graduate at the top at University!" she yelled.

"Not really, Granger, if you recall, I did, and I gave it up for you!" He turned to the crowd and said, "There's a headline for all of you!"

She yelled, "And I didn't ask you to! Just like, I did not ask to endure the hardships of helping Harry defeat Voldemort! I didn't ask for any of it! Unlike you and your posh life, where everything was handed to you, and you had to work for nothing, I have had to work twice as hard just because of the happenstance of my birth! Just because I met a boy with a lightning bolt scar on a train, when I was a little girl! Just like I didn't ask Percy for this job! Just like I did not ask to run for Minister!"

A hush came over the room. All eyes were on Draco Malfoy, to see what he would say next. What he said next shocked everyone, especially Hermione Granger. He said, "Then do us all a favour and get the hell out of the race, you pitiful excuse for a candidate, and pitiful excuse for a witch!"

If a pin had dropped in the room at that moment, it would have sounded like an anvil.

Hermione stared at him. "Do us a favour and you drop out. You only decided to run for Minister in the first place because you thought you loved me," she accused. There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room.

He looked at her angrily and said, "Yeah, well, I was a fool and I now know that what I thought was love was folly and false, because now, sometimes, I think I hate you, Granger. I really do."

Reporters started talking amongst themselves, because they had what they had come for, a fight, and a 'Knock Out', score one to Malfoy, zero to Granger. Everyone started to talk about what had just occurred. No one was more shocked by his statement than she was, well, except for him.

The moderator finally stood, hushed the crowd, and said, "Are there any more questions?" No one from the crowd said a word. He turned to the two candidates as they stood at the podiums and to Hermione he said, "Miss Granger, would you like to make your closing remarks?"

She looked out at Anthony, who seemed angry, and at Harry, who seemed sad. She looked over at Draco, who had a red face, hands fisted at his sides, staring out at the crowd. She merely shook her head. If she had tried to speak, she probably would have cried.

The moderator looked at Draco and said, "Mr. Malfoy, your closing statement?"

Draco looked over at Hermione, and he wondered how everything had gotten so out of hand. She looked close to tears. He kept his eyes on her and said, "I only have one closing remark. Miss Granger doesn't even want this job, and I do. That should be the only thing that matters, not what's been said and done today in this room. We both said and did things that we're not proud of, and I know we both said things that are not true. If I have hurt or embarrassed my opponent, I apologize." He stepped away from the podium, and sat down. His eyes never left her face.

The crowd started to disperse, and Hermione went to sit down at the chair near her podium. She could feel Draco's eyes upon her. Anthony rushed up to her, but she waved him away. Harry told her he would wait for her out in the hallway. Draco stood back up, but remained in the room, until the last reporter left. He walked up to Hermione and said, "That was intense, wasn't it?"

She nodded.

He said, "Hey, Granger, all's fair in love and war, right?"

She nodded again.

He stood in front of her and said, "Look at me, Granger." She looked up at him. "You said it yourself; you didn't ask to run for Minister, it was forced upon you. Just like Percy forced your current job on you. Just like fighting Voldemort was forced upon you. Give yourself a break. You have dealt the hand that was given you with grace and dignity. Do something for yourself for a change, and step down, before this gets out of hand."

She looked down at the floor.

"What do you say, Hermione?" he asked. He put his hand on her shoulder.

She said, "I won't give up. I will not run from a fight. I never have yet, and I won't start now, whether that fight was forced upon me, or I went looking for it." She stood up, turned to him, and said, "And you said you hated me." That hurt her more than anything had ever hurt her in her whole life, and she was so ashamed, because of how many times she had so loosely used the same term to him. Did it cut him to the bone every time she had said those words, the way it cut to her bone? Did it pierce his heart at just the thought of her hating him, the way it pierced hers? She did not know if she could ever forgive herself. He said he hated her. Well, at that moment, so did she.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 – Hermione needs Validation, and Draco Loves her Again**

Present Day:

Self-respect means having high esteem in ones self, holding yourself in high opinion, high regard, and value. Yes, Hermione Granger used to have self-respect. She really did. She didn't know when it disappeared, perhaps a long time ago, or maybe just this afternoon. Hermione looked at herself in her bathroom mirror as she brushed her teeth and said aloud, "howl deed tings get sosh owsh af han?" Then she took her toothbrush out of her mouth and repeated the phrase aloud once more, and much more coherently. "How did things get so out of hand?" She pointed at her reflection with her toothbrush, splattering toothpaste all over the mirror. She finished her teeth, rinsed her mouth, and wiped the mirror with her shirttail.

She sat down on the side of her tub, in her oldest pajamas, which consisted of a pair of Harry's old sleep pants, and an old t-shirt of Ron's. Even though it was only six pm, she was very tired. She bobbed her foot up and down as she sat on the tub. How could she and Draco have acted so hateful to each other? If they were this abhorrent to each other, did they even really love each other, as much as they professed?

Although Hermione had spent a lifetime claiming she hated Draco Malfoy, and spouting that very sentiment for the majority of said lifetime, at least more times than she could count, she had not told him that _once_ since she had told him she loved him. Not once, because she did not, if she ever did. Maybe it was different for him. Maybe he had never meant he loved her all the times he had said that he did.

Harry brought her home, because Anthony was still angry with her. Harry didn't say a thing to her the whole way home, but she had a suspicion that Harry felt guilty, like he always did, especially when she talked about all that she had given up to help him defeat Voldemort, and how that wasn't the life that she had wanted. Well, seriously, would anyone have wanted that life? Harry didn't ask for that life either, yet he wasn't moaning about it to a room full of reporters. When they reached her front door, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. She took his hand and said, "If I had it to do all over again, I would do it the same way. I would still ask you if you had seen Trevor the toad, and I would have still forced my friendship on you."

He smiled, kissed her other cheek, and said, "If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't have let you in my compartment. I would have kept you safe and away from all the horrors, but truthfully, if I hadn't met you, we would be living in a very different world. Don't underestimate your contributions to the defeat of Voldemort, Hermione. And, so what if your friendship with the Weasleys and me helped you along the way? We hindered you much more than we helped you, but no one wants to talk about that, do they?" He grasped her hands, squeezed them once, and then left her alone with her thoughts.

Two hours later, and she was still thinking.

Anthony tried to floo her, but she shut her floo. He sent her an Owl, but she sent it back. She knew he was disappointed in her. She felt badly that he had to come out of the closet, and for no real reason, since she mucked everything up so shoddily in the end.

Why did she take Malfoy's bait? Why did she rise to his taunts? Why did it hurt her so much that he said he hated her? WHY? Most important, why did she even care? She was truthful during the debate. She didn't want to be Minister. Perhaps it wasn't too late to mend things. Perhaps she could concede. Hell, they were running neck-to-neck in the polls. Maybe he would beat her. She could be happy staying in her present job. She did a lot of good work there, and she found out long ago that she didn't need the glory.

If Draco really wanted the job, and if she really loved him, maybe she should give it to him.

Even if he did hate her.

Did she love him? She thought she did, but quick sex in a couple of bathrooms didn't constitute love. She almost felt like she loved him more years ago, when she used to tell him she hated him, than she did now. No, that wasn't true. It just seemed HE loved HER more back then.

The one thing above all others that Hermione J. Granger was sure of was that **she did not like the person she had become**, and if she did not change things right now, she never would again.

If what she felt for Draco was love, and it hurt this badly, she would gladly go back to 'fake love' with Anthony, or anyone else.

She should concede.

She would concede.

She wanted to concede.

It was the right thing to do. Sometimes it took the bigger person to do the right thing, even if it was wrong for them. Let right be done, for the greater good. That should be her new motto. Would Draco Malfoy be the right choice for Minister of Magic? Could she really subject the people to someone like him?

She had spent so much time pretending that she was fighting the good fight for the common good, but in truth, she wore a mask. A mask that hid the real reason she wanted to win. She wanted to win for one reason and one simple reason only: Just because she wanted to win. As simplistic as that sounded, that was the whole truth. She wanted to prove she was good enough, and that she could win. She wanted to win, but she did not want to be Minister of Magic, and in the end, that was not a good enough reason.

She was ashamed that all she really wanted was validation, and to have the majority say that she was smart enough. That she was a good witch. She felt she had yet to prove that, to herself or anyone else. She didn't get to prove it at Hogwarts, because she was never made head girl. She didn't get to prove it at University, because she didn't get to give her speech, and the truth was, she wasn't even number one there, she was number two. She wanted to prove that she was good enough, somewhere, somehow.

Draco called her a pitiful excuse for a witch, and she was afraid that he might be right, and it pained her to think so. It was sentiments like that, that negated every good thing anyone ever said about her.

In the end, it was nothing but a popularity contest, and as much as she should not care, she did.

She cared a lot, dammit!

However, that was not enough of a reason to be Minister.

_Flashback:_

_Hermione had been in her new position as Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic for two and a half months, and though there had been a few people in her department who had quit out of protest to her promotion, or asked for transfers, for the most part, everyone was getting along and they were getting a lot of work done. She felt the majority of her staff had been supportive, for which she was grateful.___

_She looked at her watch and saw that it was time to meet Harry for lunch. She walked over and got her hat and coat. Even though the Ministry was underground, the windows were charmed to reflect the weather outside, and the weather outside was horrible. It was snowing hard, giant white flakes, and it was very cold. She ran up the stairs to the lobby, just as Harry was walking in the main doors. He had large white flakes in his nearly black hair. Hermione started to laugh when she saw him. ___

_She came up to him and brushed her hands through his unruly black hair, to remove the remnants of snow, and she said, "Harry Potter, look at you."___

_He shook his head, laughed, and said, "It's snowing very hard out there."___

_"You look like you have a very bad case of dandruff," she said, her hands still up in his hair.___

_"Very funny," he replied.___

_"Can you imagine what the snow would do to her hair, Potter?" Draco Malfoy said. Hermione turned to face him, as he approached the pair. Hermione had not seen him since the day Mr. Spine lost his job.___

_"Why do you always barge in to other people's conversations?" she asked.___

_"I like to hear myself speak," he admitted.___

_His truthfulness made her smile. She tried to hide her smile behind her hand, but Draco pointed at her, and leaned down to look in her eyes.___

_"Was that funny, Granger?" he asked.___

_"Not at all, I'm just glad someone likes your company, even if it is only yourself," she stated.___

_"You're a barrel of laughs, Granger," he deadpanned. "You have no sense of humour. Good thing you're so pretty."___

_"I try, very hard actually, at the pretty part, not the humour," she said as she laughed. Draco grinned.___

_He leaned toward her, and with his index finger, he moved the hair away from her ear, and with his breath on her neck, he said, so only she could hear, "And in that you succeed very well, Granger."___

_He leaned away and still had the same smile on his face. She didn't know what he meant by that, and before she could ask, Harry took her elbow and led her toward the front doors. She turned back once, and Draco was still standing in the same spot. He raised his hand slightly, as if to wave goodbye._

Present Day:

As soon as she heard the knock on the door, she knew it was Draco. As much as she wanted to avoid seeing him, she knew she must. She went up to the door and opened it wide.

"How did you know it was me? I could have been a reporter, here to eviscerate you. Always ask who is at your door," he scolded.

She sighed and shut the door in his face. He frowned. He stood there for a moment, wondering if he should leave, when he heard her say, "Aren't you going to knock again?"

He grinned and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Draco," he said.

"Draco who?" she asked.

He knew at once that he was forgiven. He said, "How many Dracos do you know?"

She opened the door and said, "Thank goodness, you're the only one." She gave him a small smile and said, "Would you like to come into my house?"

"Said the spider to the fly," he joked, then he asked, "Am I allowed?"

"Do you still hate me?" she asked.

He knew that statement hurt her. It hurt him. It left a hole in his heart. He took her hand, and played with her fingers. He looked down at their clasped hands and said, "Will you ever forgive me?"

"Maybe, in time," she said truthfully. "How did you forgive me all those times I said it to you?"

"Hard work and practice, because you said it so often," he laughed. He looked up at her, and smiled. "Hell, Granger, I knew you never hated me. You might have disliked me, but you never hated me, and you have to know I didn't mean that. I meant some of the things I said today, but not that, and I regret it, and most of all, I apologize. I love you and only you and I have for such a long time. I am such an arse. I don't know how anyone can stand me. Am I forgiven, please?"

"I guess," she said, moving aside so he could enter the house.

"You guess?" he mocked, crossing the threshold. He took off his jacket and draped it across her couch. "You're not one to mince words, are you?" He turned to her and added, "Come to me, Hermione."

She started laughing. "Come to me, Hermione," she mocked. "Good gracious, Malfoy, you are so funny. You sound like some character from an old fashion romance movie. 'Come to me, Hermione, and let me ravish you'," she said in a deep voice.

"Is that supposed to be me?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"No, wait, I can do it better." She cleared her voice, coughed, and said, "I am Draco Malfoy, I am a sex god, come, let me take you in my arms, and together, we shall see paradise, preferable in a public place!" She laughed toward the end.

"I'm not a bloody romance book character," he said, appalled. He reached out for her and pulled her to him. "Speaking of romance, what the hell do you have on, for it does nothing to evoke romance, in any way, shape, or form."

"Well, my t-shirt was Ron's, and it's probably fifteen years old. I stole it from his bedroom at the Burrow one time when I spent the night there with Ginny. My bottoms once belonged to Harry. They were too small for him, and he left them here once, and I commandeered them," she explained. She knew she looked a sight, but she was comfortable.

"Next you'll tell me your knickers once belonged to Goldstein," he said in disgust.

"Well…" she joked.

"Go change, I can't talk to you dressed like that. You look like a bloody clown," he said seriously.

"What's wrong with my outfit? I'm ready for bed," she said.

He looked at his watch and said, "BED! It's 7:13 pm. No one gets ready for bed this early, unless they're under five years old."

"But I'm comfortable," she complained. "I needed some comfort after today."

"I'll be your comfort," he said.

"You caused my discomfort," she came back.

"Touché, Granger, you wound me and I deserve it and if you only knew how completely and utterly sorry I am, you would forgive me and seriously, you have to go put something else on before I continue groveling at your feet. If you insist on sleep attire, I'll find a nice black negligee for you to wear, but I can't look at you in that outfit."

"Ha, ha, no," she spat. She sat down on the end of her couch.

"Will you at least take off Weasel's shirt? I can abide Potter's pants on you, because I know you were never intimate with him," he said, as he sat next to her.

"You've probably always wanted to get into Harry's pants, right?" she asked.

"You're sick. Go change, and then we'll talk about how we're to carry on after that debacle that was called a debate," he said.

"I am not changing my clothes," she huffed.

He scooted closer and said, "Then you leave me no choice," and he reached over and tried to pull the t-shirt right over her head.

She hit his hands away and said, "I don't have anything on under this, stop it!"

"All the better!" he said. He kept trying to pull the shirt over her head, as her hands went down to the bottom of the hem, and held on tight.

"Stop!" she yelled, "you're going to rip it!"

"I hope so!" he said. He pushed her onto her back and pinned her arms over her head. "Now, are you going to remove this stupid old shirt, or shall I?"

"I don't want to fight anymore with you, Draco. Go ahead, if you must, remove the shirt." She stared right in his eyes.

He gave her a strange look and said, "I don't know what's gotten into you. I thought I would come here tonight, you would be crying, miserable, you would tell me to go away, tell me that you would never forgive me, and that you might even turn me into a ferret. I never thought you would tell me to take your shirt off, and that you loved me."

"I didn't say that I loved you," she said. He let go of her arms, and sat up straight, but remained straddling her body. Her hand went up to his cheek, and she cradled it in her hand. "However, just because I didn't say it, doesn't mean that I don't. I love you, Draco, I really do, but you hurt me more today, when you said that you hated me, than anyone has ever hurt me before."

"Please, forgive me, tell me what I can do to gain your redemption, and I will do it," he said sadly. Hermione could see true pain in his eyes.

"I want you to win the election, and become the next Minister of Magic, and most of all, I just want you," she said.

He looked down at her and said, "You don't have to choose one or the other, Hermione. You can have my love, and still win the election."

"I know. I'm just telling you what's in my heart, and I don't want to be Minister, not really," she said. He lay down on the couch, beside her. He propped himself up on his elbow, as his free hand came down to lightly touch her face. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then finally her lips. He toyed with her lips for a moment, moving his lips back and forth over the velvety softness, before giving in, letting go, and giving her the type of kiss he had wanted to give her the moment he set foot in her house.

He pressed his entire body down on hers and his mouth crushed hers in an insatiable, hungry, forgiving kiss. His hand slid from her face down to her waist, and when he was done with the kiss, he buried his face in her neck and said, "I love you more than anything. I have loved you so long. I would give it up for you; I really would, if you asked me to."

He looked up at her and she put her hand back on his face. "I would never ask you to," she said.

"Then why do you think I would ask you to?" he asked back. She sat up, moved her legs over his, and climbed off the couch. She stood in the middle of the living room.

"Oh, Draco, don't you see? We can't have the election and us in the end, so I've made my choice, and I choose you over the election. You're more important." He sat up as well and hung his head. She stepped back over to him and moved his arm so she could sit across his lap

"Does that mean if I don't pronounce the same proclamation, that you're a bigger person than I?" he asked.

"Undoubtedly so," she answered.

He laughed a fake laugh and said, "Here's what I say we do. This not seeing each other thing was a bunch of malarkey. We'll see each other, just in secret. We'll both run for office, in public. We'll continue to fight the good fight, and the best man or woman will win. I vow the dirty fighting stops right here, because in the long run, I don't want to win that way." He put his forehead on hers, as she turned in his lap. "I don't want to win that way, but I do intend to win."

She smiled and kissed his lips. "It is said that the truly great has their greatness thrust upon them. But I want to be great by my own hand, by merit; I don't want it thrust upon me."

"Then don't give up, Granger, it's not becoming," he said. He pinched her bum. She jumped off his lap.

"Hey, that hurt," she said while rubbing her butt cheek. "Well, if you aren't going to let me concede, I suppose you won't help me come up with a plan to make sure you beat me either, right?"

"Right," he said, standing.

She walked toward the doorway, leading toward the hall. "I don't think I like a noble Draco. It's unsettling." She actually frowned. She turned so her back was to him and she said, "Well, the least you could do is take this blasted t-shirt off me, you fool." She walked toward her bedroom, removing the shirt along the way.

He shouted from the couch, "You might not like the noble Malfoy, but I love the vixen Granger." He stood up and went toward her bedroom. He poked his head in the room as Ron's old t-shirt hit him in the face. Yes, he liked her a lot, he really did.

_flashback:_

_When Hermione arrived back to the Ministry, she thought that she surely had more snow on her than what was outside. Just as Malfoy suggested, her hair, wet with snow, was a sight. She had just started down the stairwell, shaking her hair, when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She stopped and turned. ___

_"Of course, it's my own personal stalker," she said to Draco.___

_"I aim to please," he said.___

_She took off her coat and her scarf. She said, "Well, just as you predicted, my hair is a mess. It's a blizzard out there. My hair is completely wet."___

_He walked up to her, and his close proximity caused her to take a step back. He reached out and as she did with Harry earlier, he put his hand in her hair, but instead of the playful ruffle, which she bestowed on Harry earlier; Draco stroked her hair with the palm of his hand.___

_"So soft, even wet, it's so soft." He seemed mesmerized. ___

_"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she finally asked. He was aware that his hand was still in her hair. Curious, she did not ask, nay demand, he remove it. He took special note of that fact. ___

_He said, "I'm testing a theory."___

_He put his hand back down to his side.___

_"And what theory would that be?" she asked.___

_He smiled, wider than she had ever seen, put his hand on her upper arm, gave it a squeeze and said, "I'll tell you someday, or better yet, you might just discover it on your own." He winked at her and walked back up the stairwell, leaving her wet, wind blown, and wondering._

Present Day:

Draco Malfoy lay in bed, watching Hermione Granger sleep. He promised her a fair fight, and he reneged, but she forgave him. What kind of witch was she? Blaise was right. She was too good for him. Good thing he didn't have a problem with that. He stroked her hair. He remembered how much he always loved touching her hair. Funny, that.

Hermione rolled over in bed, and her arm swung over his chest. He brought her even closer. He shut his eyes, as he tried to recall the love they had just shared. He sighed, for he felt so content. He tightened his hold on her. No matter what, he would not give her up. Nothing could make him do that.

After the election, if she won or he won, would all of this change? What was their future? Would they marry someday, have children? He thought, 'Draco Malfoy, you are such a sentimental fool.' He relished in her closeness. He kissed the top of her head.

When she removed her shirt and threw it at him, he was shocked, but pleased. This was a different side of Granger; of course, she had let him seduce her first at a public restaurant, and then today in public restroom, so he didn't know why he was so shocked that she acted so wantonly in her own home.

He strolled into her bedroom, having picked up the offensive t-shirt, after it hit him in the face. She stood in front of him, her breasts full, exposed, and more beautiful than he remembered. He said, "You will have to remove your bottoms. I don't want you ever to tell a reporter that I pulled down a pair of Potter's pants."

"Now, would I do that?" she asked, removing the pants. She threw them at him. He caught them, and then threw them and the shirt on the floor. He removed his own shirt, and threw it down as well.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I don't want you to be lonely in your nakedness," he suggested. He unzipped his pants. They hung on his hips. She reached over and let her fingertips skim down his bare chest to his abdomen. "Hmmmm," he hummed deep in his throat. He reached out with one hand and tweaked her nipple. She closed her eyes for a moment.

"That's nice," she said. She closed the gap between them, as her hands went around his waist and down his spine. He kneaded her breasts lightly, and soon both her nipples were erect. His head went down so his tongue could lick one of the tight points.

"Maybe you should let the press know how talented your tongue is, that might secure you the woman vote," she said. Then she moaned.

He brought his head back up and looked at her. "I would have to prove it to them, and that might get a bit tiresome, don't you think?"

"Not for them, maybe." She laughed. He reached down and stroked her thigh. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her knickers and pulled them down her legs. She stepped out of them and backed into the bed, and sat down. He finished undressing and sat beside her. He bent his head and played with her lips, teasing them with his own, as he licked and sucked, and tasted with his tongue. Her hand went down to his thigh, on the hard muscle, feathery soft, back and forth. Her hand went between his legs and cupped him lightly. He stopped kissing her for a moment.

"Miss Granger, I could guarantee you a win if you would promise to do that to each and every man between 18 and 80," he said. He put his head back, groaned, and gave up. He fell back on his back. She brought her hand up to his chest, and caressed it lightly. She began to rain kisses on his face, neck, chest and belly. He kept his eyes shut, and gave into the pleasure she provided. This was so much better than the 'quickie' they shared earlier today.

She continued to stroke between his thighs, as she kissed his nipples. He had almost forgotten to reciprocate. He started to stroke her breasts and back. She lifted one leg over his body, and came down hard on top of him. He opened his eyes.

"Oh, Granger, wow," he grunted. She moved up and down on top of him. He put his hands on her hips, but not so much as a guide, since she seemed to know what she was doing. No, he did so mainly as a place to put his hands. Finally, cognizant of her pleasure once again, he placed them on her breasts

He continued to grunt and groan, while she remained mostly silent. He appreciated the fact that she was in control. It gave him a chance to enjoy her. His hand went between her legs, found her nub, and played with it lightly. She finally started to make some noise as well.

"Music to my ears," he managed to say. He groaned again, and said her name as his climax hit. His climax rippled through her, and soon her own climax was pulsing right along with his.

She bit down on her lip so hard, to keep from screaming, and he looked up at her finally, as she rode him harder, and harder still. He wanted to tell her to take a deep breath in and out, but he couldn't speak. Instead, somehow, he knew not how, but somehow, he managed to turn them over, so she was under him, and he continued to drive into her until she could keep quiet no longer. She screamed. He finally collapsed on top of her. She clenched her walls tightly around him, as she started to come down from her elation.

When he rolled off her, he put his hand instinctively on her belly. He could feel it move as it continued to spasm. He pulled her to him, and true to her word, she fell asleep in no time.

That was where they were. They had just made love, she had fallen asleep, and he held her as he watched her sleep. He knew one thing, if he knew nothing else. He truly did love her, and finally, he knew what he had to do. He had to play fair, even if it meant she would win. He wanted…her. No, even more than that, he wanted to throw the election to her favour, and he was just devious enough to do that. Yes, he was. So much for playing fair.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 ****–**** Draco Writes Hermione a Note:**

Present Day:

When Hermione awoke the next morning, she found a note on her pillow. It said, "See you later." That's all it said. Boy, Malfoy was quite the romantic, wasn't he? She chuckled and was about to throw the note in her trash bin, when she changed her mind. She folded the note and put it in her top dresser drawer, under her underwear. She put it on top of another note he once wrote to her, and that she had saved.

_Flashback:_

_Walking along the busy sidewalk of Muggle London, along with all the holiday shoppers, Hermione Granger was on a mission. Her mother wanted an updated photograph, preferably a Muggle one, of Hermione for Christmas. Though it seemed garish to Hermione to give her own portrait to someone for Christmas, this was for her mum, and it was what she wanted, so she would oblige. She had just picked up the photographs from the photographer's studio, and now all she had to do was to find the perfect frame.___

_She walked in the busy department store, and went to the housewares department. She passed through housewares, and found an assortment of frames on a table. She started to touch different frames, examining each one closely. A black one? No, too boring. How about a red one? Hermione had a red sweater on in the picture, so it might be nice. She placed it back on top of the table, to consider a black metal frame. No, still black. She picked up a silver frame. It had a green ribbon threaded through the intricate silver design. She felt a presence behind her. She turned and said, "My stalker is back."___

_"One could argue that you are stalking me," Draco said.___

_"One could argue that, but they would be mistaken," she said back. ___

_He took the frame from her, and said, "These are nice Slytherin colours. Are you going to put a picture of me in here?"___

_"Ha, I don't think so, Malfoy." She took the frame back from him and placed it on the table. "I'm looking for a frame for a picture for my mum."___

_"Why would your mum want a picture of me?" he asked with a slight smile.___

_She looked over at him. His smile was warm and his eyes sparkling. She said, "She wouldn't, she would, however, want a picture of me, for some odd reason." She looked back at the frames, and found the perfect frame. It was glass and gilded gold. There were glass beads along the sides, in different shapes, and different colours of ivory, browns, beiges, tans, and golds. She touched the smooth glass and said, "I think I like this one."___

_"It might be prettier than the picture," he said.___

_She turned to look at him and scolded, "It's Christmas, so be nice to me."___

_"I just don't know what the picture looks like, so I just said what I thought. If I could see the picture, I might amend my statement," he said.___

_"I happen to have the picture right here, but I don't know if I want you to see it. You might make fun of me or laugh or something," she said quite seriously.___

_He laughed at her statement, but when her smile fell off her face, he said, "You are such a silly thing. Let Draco see the picture." He held out his hand.___

_"Why are you referring to yourself in the third person, it's disconcerting, so stop it," Hermione said. She moved aside slightly, with the frame under her arm, so not to be in the way of other shoppers. She looked in her satchel, and took out a large envelope. She pulled out the photograph, and handed it to him. She had several others as well, but the one she withdrew was the one she decided to give her mum and dad. ___

_He examined it for a moment. He thought she looked very pretty. Her hair was long and curly, she had on a pretty, deep red sweater, and she was smiling so sweetly. She was one of the prettiest girls he had ever met, and this picture did her justice. As he looked at the picture, another shopper jostled him, he was pushed into her, and the picture bent slightly, in the corner.___

_"Granger, I'm so sorry," he said. He tried to smooth out the now permanent crease. _

_"Oh, magic will take care of it, and if not, I have four others I can pick from. I couldn't really decide, so I just had five different poses printed," she said. She took the picture from him.___

_"May I see the others?" he asked.___

_"Why would you want to see them?" she asked him.___

_"I forget what you look like," he joked.___

_"You're looking at me right now," she argued.___

_"But you might have changed since the photograph was taken. I want to see what you used to look like," he said as a joke.___

_"The photos were taken last week," she said back.___

_"People change a lot in a week," he surmised. ___

_"You just looked at one of the photos. If I've changed that much, you can tell from that one," she reasoned.___

_He sighed, because her reasoning was valid, if not a bit tiring, and he took the envelope from her, and pulled out the pictures. He looked through them, coming to stop on the fourth one. He said, "I like this one the best."___

_She came to stand beside him, and leaned over to look at the picture. Her upper arm was touching his. He looked down at her head as she looked at the picture in his hand. Her hair was tickling his cheek. She smelled like brown sugar and vanilla. She looked up at him and he was staring at her. He covered by looking at the picture again and said, "Yes, see, you've changed a lot. You have a new freckle, right here," and he touched her cheek quickly.___

_"Well, good thing you noticed that. I wouldn't want to walk around with a new freckle and not know about it," she joked before she asked, "Do you want that one?" As soon as she asked, she was shocked at herself. She looked down and to cover she said, "You might want to use it as a dart board."___

_"A what?" he asked. ___

_"Oh, it's a Muggle game. You throw little pointed spikes called darts at a board, for points," she said. She took the picture from him. He took it back.___

_"It will make a right fine dart board, thanks, Granger. Now you don't have to get me a Christmas present," he said. He put the picture inside his coat, for safekeeping.___

_"I could still buy you some darts," she said. She knew her face was red. She couldn't believe he would want to keep her picture. "Well, I have my frame, so I should go. If I don't see you before Christmas, have a happy one." She took the frame and started to walk away. He called out to her, so she walked back.___

_"Yes?" she asked.___

_He looked in her eyes intently. He was quiet for a moment, and then said, "Have you discovered my theory about you yet?"___

_She hadn't forgotten what he had said about 'testing a theory' the last time they met at the Ministry. She said, "I still don't have a clue as to what you are talking about, so just tell me, what theory?"___

_He smiled, leaned down, touched her face with his fingertips, and then lightly kissed her cheek. He said, "Why don't you think about it some more, and get back with me, won't you? Happy Christmas, Granger." She touched her cheek, looked at him confused, and then ran away from him toward the other side of the store. She turned back once, and waved.___

_He reached down and took the silver frame with the green ribbon, and took it to the counter to pay for it. Her picture would look very pretty in it. He went back to his office and wrote her a quick note. He didn't want to make it mushy or too sweet. He wrote, "Thanks for the dartboard. I think I'll frame it. Whenever I feel like I'm too full of myself, I'll look at it, and it will help bring me down a notch or two. It will be like having Granger there in person, telling me that I'm a bastard." Not really what he wanted to say, since he wanted to say a short and succinct, "I love you," but it was as much as he dared. He sent it by Owl the moment he finished writing._

Present Day:

She reread the note he sent her a couple years before, after she gave him her picture. She was not sure why she kept that note all these years, but she did. She stuck it back in her drawer, and went to get a shower.

While she was in the shower, she realized something. How could she have been so blind all these years? Has she cared for him all these years, and been in denial? No, that could not be. Could it? Has she loved Draco all this time and not even known it? Has she secretly known it, but not admitted it? Was that his theory?

She hurried, dressed, and went right into the office. Percy was the first person she saw. He asked to see her in his office. She walked in his office and she said, "How have you been feeling, Perc?"

"Not very well, in fact, I don't know if I can wait three more weeks until the election," he said, sitting down.

"Percy, are you really that ill?" she asked concerned, sitting down in front of his desk.

"Afraid so, Hermione. I just need to rest. So, I hear the debate was awful," he said, smiling.

She smiled back and said, "That would be correct, Sir. I made a fool of myself."

He threw a copy of the 'Prophet' to her. He said, "All the papers are saying the same thing. You don't even want the job. You feel pushed into it. You didn't even want the Undersecretary job. Is this true?"

She did not know what to say. "Percy, I love my job, now, but in the beginning, you gave me no choice but to take this job, if you recall."

"I do," he acknowledged.

"And, you really gave me no choice about running for office. You had an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot, and you told them you were ill, you had to step down, and they had to hold a special election, and quickly, and that you wanted me to run. It was all decided before anyone even talked to me about it," she admitted.

"If we had talked to you about it, what would you have said," he asked.

"I don't know, because I was never given the chance to think about it, and I still haven't really thought about it. I think I might have said, 'no'." She stood up and walked over to sit in front of him on top of his desk. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Percy, I will do what everyone wants me to do, and if I am elected, I will be the best Minister of Magic that I could ever be, but no, I don't really want it. I won't shy away from it, but I would never have sought it out on my own."

He put his head in his hands and said, "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I really didn't see another option. We have worked so hard in the years since Voldemort to rid the Ministry of corruption. I wanted my legacy to carry on, even if I could not be the one to carry it on, and I was selfish. I'm using you, Anthony is using you, the Ministry is using you, and I am so sorry." He seemed close to tears. She hugged him.

Anthony came running in the office and said, "Did you read the papers?"

Hermione looked up from holding Percy and said, "Yes, Perc just showed them to me," and she held it up to him.

"No, not the 'Prophet'. Here, look," and he threw a different paper on the Minister's desk.

The headline read, "**Draco Malfoy's cheque to St. Mungo's bounces. Inquires to be made."**

Hermione began to read the article. She said, "This is outrageous. It says that his cheque bounced, and that when they contacted him, his representatives said that they would make a full inquiry, but that they weren't in any hurry, and that the charity could wait until after the election. This is, I mean, well, outrageous!"

"You said that already," Anthony confirmed.

"Malfoy has all kinds of money. Even though the two million galleons he donated to them was a lot of money, it's nothing to him. His cheque wouldn't bounce!" Hermione roamed around the room. Then it hit her, he did this on purpose! "Damn him!"

"Hermione, who cares, besides a bunch of orphans," Anthony said. "This is great for us! This will help our election."

"Anthony, that's not nice," Percy scolded.

"That's it, exactly, Anthony!" Hermione waved the paper in his face. "He's trying to throw the election my way, the bastard! So much for playing fair, of course in the world of Draco Malfoy, this probably does seem fair. The bastard!"

"Hermione, stop repeating yourself, and calm down. Who cares why he's doing it! If I knew that your shagging him would make him throw the election, I would have set you two up long ago. I wouldn't have waited until the night of the play," Anthony revealed.

"Anthony Goldstein! You tried to set us up?" she asked.

"Hermione, Malfoy's had it for you forever, since University, and you have liked him, too, and I thought since he gave up top spot for you at University, than maybe he would give up this for you, also! I suspected he was only running to get you to notice him!"

"First, Anthony," Hermione yelled, "I don't want to win that way! Second, how did you know he liked me? Second, how did you know I have always liked him, when I just came to that conclusion myself about an hour ago?"

Percy laughed and said, "Hermione, you said, 'second' twice, so you are repeating yourself, and he has told you that he's loved you for years. Moreover, the way you have so adamantly alleged your hate for him has always meant that you loved him. Everyone knows that!"

"Everyone but me!" she said in despair. She sat down in the Minister's vacant chair and hung her head.

Percy said, "Anthony, get some reporters over here, and Hermione will give them a statement. Perhaps we can use this to our advantage."

Hermione looked up at Percy and said, "Whose side are you on anyway? You apologized for using me just moments ago, but yet you continue to do so!"

"That's politics, Hermione," Percy said. "Get up from my chair; I have a statement to write for you to read." He scooted her from his chair.

As Anthony started from the room, she called out, "Anthony, how did you know he gave up being number one for me at University? I didn't even know that until recently."

"I hired a private detective, to uncover things on him," he said. "I found out he was number one, but wasn't it curious that somehow you were named number one, even though his ranking was higher? It was easy to deduce. He did it because he loved you!"

Hermione was shocked! Had he loved her since University? Had he loved her even before that?

Anthony turned to leave again and she said, "One more thing, who did you hire to dig up dirt on Malfoy?"

"Blaise Zabini," Anthony said. He turned and dashed out the room.

Hermione was so angry, that she wanted to kill someone, and she didn't care whom. She ran to the Auror's Department and ran right into Harry's office.

"Harry, I need help to prevent a murder," she said desperately.

Harry stood up, and ran to her side. "Who's going to be murdered?" he asked.

"I haven't decided yet. I want to kill three people, and I just don't know who I want to kill the worse," she said. He rolled his eyes, and shut his office door.

He turned to her and said, "Now, calmly tell me who you want to kill."

"I am calm, Harry Potter!" she screamed. Okay, maybe she wasn't. "You know what, why should I only kill one of them? I could kill all three, no, make that four!"

"My best friend is a mass murderer now?" he asked. He pulled her to his couch and said, "Who's the first victim?"

"Anthony!"

"I won't even ask you why. I agree with that one, go on, who's next?" Harry asked.

"Percy!"

"From what I hear, he's pretty sick, so nature might take care of that one for you, but then again, he could get better. I think I even understand that one, now tell me who else," he urged.

"Draco Malfoy!"

"Damn, Hermione, finally, you're talking sense. I could help you with that one, and we would never be caught. Now who's the fourth?"

"Blaise Zabini!"

That one had him confused. He said, "Why him?"

Just then, there was a knock on Harry's door. He stood to answer, and it was Anthony. Hermione rushed to him and Harry grabbed her by the waist. "What is it, Goldstein?" Harry asked.

"Well, I was going to say I needed Hermione, for an impromptu press conference, right now, but maybe we should wait until she's no longer frothing at the mouth," Anthony said, somewhat afraid.

Hermione said, "Let me go, Harry. I promise it will be quick and painful."

"Don't you mean, quick and painless," Harry asked, still holding her tight.

"Whatever," she seethed.

Anthony said, "You know what, hate me if you will, but you will win this fucking election, even if it's over my dead body. Now be an adult and come upstairs!"

"Go to hell," she said.

Harry said, "Anthony, get out of my office, and stop bullying Hermione, or I'll let her kill you, and I will dispose of your body myself."

"Shut up, Potter, no one asked to hear you and your sanctimonious offerings," Anthony goaded.

Ron walked in the office and said, "Percy said that Hermione is needed upstairs. What's going on here?"

All three occupants of the room turned to Ron and said, "NOTHING!"

Walking back toward the lobby, Anthony on one side, Harry on the other, Hermione saw Percy talking to a group of reporters. Percy said, "Here she is now."

He handed her a piece of parchment, leaned in, and said, "Read this statement, and then take some questions."

She looked at the statement, balled it up, and threw it on the floor. She said, "I really have no comment about the St. Mungo's incident. I'm sure it's a misunderstanding. I know Mr. Malfoy would not want the children of this charity to suffer, and his camp made comments for him that was out of line. Mr. Malfoy has plenty of money; so seriously, do you all really think his cheque would bounce?"

Draco walked through the reporters and said, "Do you work for my campaign, now, Miss Granger? You seem to sing my praises quite highly."

Most of the reporters laughed. He came up to join her and he said, "Miss Granger doesn't know what she's talking about, and while she was correct that I have tons of money, more than I know what to do with, and my cheque would never bounce, she really doesn't know all the particulars. It seems that the charity in question withheld some facts from us, so we withheld the money from them. Plain and simple, and in the end, how much money does a bunch of raggedy orphans need? She gave them a sizable donation of one million galleons, and she worked hard to raise that money, by the way, so they aren't exactly hurting."

She hissed at him, "What are you doing?"

He smiled and said, "Playing fair?"

She whispered, "You're trying to throw the election! How is that fair?"

He winked and said, "It's fair to you." He looked at the reporters and asked, "Are there anymore questions?"

Hermione said loudly, "Yes, I have one!" Everyone in the lobby turned to look at her. She turned to Draco and said, "Is it or is it not true that you graduated number one in your class at University, with a degree in Magical Law, but you gave it up to me?"

A hushed filled the room. He glared at her and smirked. She said, "Two can play fair, Malfoy."


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20****– Hermione Finally Proves Draco's Theory**

Present Day:

Draco gave her the sweetest smile he could muster, and turned to the crowd. He said, "Well, no use hiding the truth, yes, I graduated at the top of my class in Magical Law at University. Yes, I gave up that spot, but only because originally I was going to be out of town the weekend of graduation, and since I would not be attending, I declined the chance to give the graduation speech. I asked that the student who was second be awarded the top spot. End of story, nothing gallant, I didn't even know Granger, I mean, Miss Granger, was second." He looked at her smugly.

"No one believes that, Malfoy," Hermione said slowly and surely, with her own smug smile.

"Why not?" he asked, "it's the truth. I'm a selfish person, and everyone knows it. Why would I purposely give up top honours to you? You of all people? Someone, whom I was never friends with, never liked, and who all my life I always assumed was below me, because she was born a mud, a mud," he could not say that word, so he said, "a Muggle-born?" He could not look at her after he said these things. They were true, actually, even though he had not felt that way forever, but he did not want the reporters to know he had changed, but he also did not want to hurt her. He was caught in the middle.

Hermione was quiet for a moment. "So that's the only reason you gave up the spot to me, because you originally were going to be out of town. No other reason? Do you really want to say that to me? Forget what you want the crowd to believe. Is that what you want me to believe?"

Damn, she had him. All eyes went back to Draco. One lone hand rose in the back of the crowd. Draco wanted to change the subject, so he said, "I think someone in the back has a question. Yes, person in the back?"

The person put their hand down, and began to walk toward the pair, weaving in and out of the crowd. He said, "Yes, I have a question, why are you lying, Malfoy?" It was Blaise Zabini. "Surprised to see me here? Anthony Goldstein invited me. Now, tell the reporters, the readers, and most importantly, Hermione, the real reason you gave up the spot to her. I think she already knows actually, but she's still anxious to hear you confirm it."

Draco narrowed his gaze at Zabini, the bastard. He threw up his hands in exasperation and without his usual decorum said, "Fine, I gave up the spot because it was more important to her than it was to me. I did it for her. I did it out of the goodness of my heart."

"And?" Zabini said.

"No other reason, Zabini," Draco said. "There you go folks, I can be a decent person too, but I want you all to think about it. I did one decent thing many years ago. Hermione Granger has done many decent things all her life. Who do you really want for your Minister?"

One reporter raised his hand and said, "Why are you both singing each others praises today, when at the debate, you both were so intent to tear each other apart, what changed?"

Draco looked at Hermione. She shrugged. She didn't know how to answer that one. The same man said, "One would almost think that neither one of you want the job. She already said at the debate that she really didn't want it. So tell us, why are you running, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco said, "You know what, I came here today for a meeting, not for a press junket. This is Miss Granger's press conference, so ask her the questions, not me."

The young female reporter who was going to break the story of their relationship decided to speak. It was apparent to her that the story was going to come out soon. She raised her hand as Draco started to walk away. She said, "One more thing, Mr. Malfoy?"

Hermione looked at Draco as he turned back to the crowd. "So you are saying, publicly, for everyone to hear, for the official record, that you totally, irrevocably, not under any circumstances, have feelings toward Miss Granger, beyond feelings of respect and friendship? You are saying that you absolutely do not love her? Are you saying that the interview you both did with me, acknowledging your love for each other, and in which you asked me to keep under lid until after the election, was a lie? You don't love her?"

Everyone gasped, and the room grew quiet. Harry put his head in his hands. Anthony seethed with anger. Percy looked worried. Ron looked concerned for Hermione and Hermione looked right at Draco. He looked at her. Her eyes looked at him pleadingly.

"Answer her question, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione said evenly.

Draco looked at Hermione. He said, "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth," she said.

"You might not win," he said.

"And you might not either, and I don't care. There are some things more important than winning an election, like the truth and honesty, and love," Hermione said softly.

He gave her a determined looked, grabbed her arm, pulled her to him, and placed his mouth down hard on hers. She was shocked, and did not respond at first. Her arms hung done at her sides, as he swung her back, leaned her over, and kissed her long and hard. He lifted her back up, as she stumbled slightly to regain her footing. The flash from photographers blinded them both, and the roar or the crowd was deafening. He said, "Does that answer everyone's question? I love her, and I have for a long time, so there."

He turned and smiled at her. She could not help but smile back. She said, softly, for only his ears, "I love you, too, and I think I've loved you for a long time, and you did the right thing by the way."

"Yes, and I intend to do an even better thing," he said. He turned back to the crowd and said, "In fact, that's the only reason I ran for office, to make her notice me, and fall in love with me in return. For that reason alone, you should vote for her." He turned back to her, smiled, winked, and said, "Let's see who wins now, Granger.

He laughed and kissed her hand, as she stood wide-eyed, and mouth agape. He said, "I'll see you up in your office, because my meeting was with you, sweetheart." He laughed the entire way to the lifts.

Hermione turned to the crowd, as they yelled out more questions. Now Anthony could not contain his joy. Malfoy just dug his own grave, in his opinion. He stepped in front of Hermione and told the press that at least Hermione had honest reasons for running, and that she was doing the honourable thing by wanting to serve the needs of the people, and placing their needs before her own. He then told them he would issue a statement later, and they all needed to leave. He shook hands with Blaise Zabini, who did not look at all pleased. He ran up to Percy, shook his hand and said, "It's going in our favour after all. She's going to win, Percy."

Ron took Hermione by the hand and led her to the stairs. Harry stood there and watched Percy and Anthony as they plotted their next move. He knew one thing, no one was going to use his best friend and get away with it.

_Flashback:_

_It was dark and Hermione Granger was somewhat afraid and apprehensive. She had a meeting with her staff, which lasted longer than she thought it would, and now, she was on her way to a big Christmas open house at Malfoy Global International. Anthony, whom she was 'sort of' dating again, was supposed to meet her there. She thought he was quite inconsiderate not to escort her there, considering the fact that Malfoy's company was located in what appeared, on the outside, to be a large abandoned warehouse, in the shipping district of Muggle London. Hermione would have apparated there, but she did not know if she would have access, and Anthony had the invitation, so she did not know what the instructions or directions were to apparating in the building.___

_She took a cab to the warehouse district, and had to walk the rest of the way on foot, since the Muggle cab driver refused to drive her directly there.___

_She felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle, which could be from the cold, but could also be from the fact that she was afraid.___

_Inside, Anthony grabbed another glass of wine. Harry came up to him and said, "Where's Hermione?"___

_"Late meeting," Anthony said cryptically.___

_"Is she coming?" he asked.___

_"I think so," he said back. ___

_Harry said, "How can she apparate without the invitation? The instructions on the invitations said that you had to have one to apparate in here," Harry asked, concerned.___

_"She will have to take a cab, and come through the doors, I suppose," Anthony said. "Stop worrying, Potter. This is Hermione, she'll be fine."___

_"Well, I don't like it," Harry said. He decided to go back to the Ministry, look for her, and then apparate with her to the party, using his invitation, since her 'boyfriend' didn't seem to care.___

_Draco Malfoy, who was a gracious host, overheard the exchange. He hated that pompous arse, Anthony Goldstein. Was Granger dating him again? The whole reason Draco even decided to hold this Christmas party was so she could come, and she was not even here. He was about to go to the Ministry himself, when he saw Potter apparate back to the room.___

_"Anthony!" Harry called out, waving to the arse-hole.___

_Anthony was having a good laugh with Ron. He looked at Harry and said, "What?"___

_"She's not at the Ministry. One of her staff members said she was taking a cab home, and then another cab here. No one knows where she is," Harry said.___

_"Maybe she's still home, I'm not her keeper," Anthony said, approaching Harry.___

_"Well, dammit, you're supposed to be her boyfriend. I'm going to check her house," and Harry left again.___

_Draco decided to see if she had arrived by cab. He disapparated outside.___

_Hermione was already regretting her decision to walk on foot. She started across the street, toward the correct warehouse, when two Muggle men crossed toward her from the other side of the street.___

_"Hello, Darlin'," one of the men said.___

_The other went behind her and said, "What are you doing here, sweetheart?"___

_Hermione reached for her wand, which was in her purse. She said, "I'm meeting a friend. Let me pass."___

_The one behind her grabbed her purse, before she knew it. Her wand, which was partially in her purse, and partially in her hand, fell to the ground. She whipped around to demand her purse back, when the first man grabbed her by the waist, and started to pull her off the street. He put a hand over her mouth, so she could not scream. The smell of smoke and perspiration, mixed with the smell of her own fear, made her feel sick. ___

_Draco Malfoy apparated in time to see the entire exchange. He ran toward them, found her wand on the ground, and picked it up, as they took her to the mouth of the alley.___

_The second man grabbed her kicking legs. They took her deep into an alleyway. They dropped her roughly to the ground, where she hit her head hard. That was the last thing she remembered. She woke up a few moments later, a black cloak over her body, and lying upon a soft, comfortable white couch. She sat up quickly, and took in her surroundings. Her head hurt, her dress was ripped, and as she swung her feet over to the floor, she saw she was missing a shoe.___

_She stood up, but fell back down. Harry came running into the office from what appeared to be a bathroom, with a cold compress in his hand. "Sit back down," he urged. He handed her the compress.___

_She sat down and said, "What happened?"___

_"You were attacked," he answered.___

_"Did you save me?" she asked.___

_"Not exactly," Harry said. "Someone else must have helped you before I got there. I saw a flash of light, and I ran to the alley. I saw you on the ground and I swear, I was so scared, I thought you were dead. I saw a man unconscious beside you, and another man running down the alley. I swear I heard someone disapparate. I don't know who helped you. I ran after the first man, and after I caught him, I called another Auror to come take care of the crime scene."___

_"Where's my wand?" she asked suddenly, as she looked around her.___

_"I found it beside you," he said, handing it to her. "You couldn't have incapacitated the first man, because you were unconscious as well." He sat beside her and took her hand.___

_"Where am I?" she asked.___

_"Draco Malfoy's office. He appeared right after I did, although, well, I am not sure, but I think he might have been the one to come to your aid first. I think he saved you. He was white as a sheet when he left you just now. He brought you up here and placed you on the couch, and wrapped you in his cloak. He went to tell all the partygoers to leave. He'll be back shortly."___

_"I want to leave before he returns. Can I go home?" she asked.___

_"Well, I need to question you, and then you can go, but you really should stay here. You hit your head pretty hard, and per protocol, I have to take you to St. Mungo's. Also, don't you want to tell Draco thank you?"___

_"I suppose," she said. Really, she just wanted to go home.___

_He patted her hand and said, "Stay here. I'll be right back." He walked out the door. She stood up and roamed the office. She almost felt like crying. What a terrible ordeal. Who saved her from those men? She didn't know what she felt about all that happened. Stupid Anthony. If he had just waited for her, as a boyfriend should, this wouldn't have happened. Could Harry have been right? Was Draco the one that had saved her?___

_She walked over to Draco's desk, and decided to write him a thank you note, and then she wanted to go home. She sat down at his desk and began to cry. Why was she crying, like some idiot? She wiped her tears and opened his top desk drawer, to look for a piece of parchment. She opened the top right drawer to look for a quill or a pen. Instead, in that drawer, she found the photograph that she had given him a week before, in the silver frame with the green ribbon. She found a pen, wrote him a quick note that read: "Thank you, Draco. Love, Hermione." She placed the note on his desk, and quickly shut the drawer and went home._

Present Day:

Hermione and Ron walked to her office. She opened the door and told him goodbye. She knew Draco would be there when she entered. She didn't know what to feel. He told the whole world that he loved her, but did he say it because he wanted to be honest, or did he honestly want her to win the election, and that was why he proclaimed it to the world.

She would have to wait to find out; as she closed her door, he looked up from her desk. He was writing her a note. He said, "I was leaving you a note. I didn't know if you would want to see me or not."

"What does the note say?" she asked.

"Thank you, Hermione, Love, Draco," he read. He handed her the note. She placed it back on her desk without looking at it.

"Why are you thanking me?" she asked.

"You made me tell everyone the truth," he responded.

"You told everyone the truth all on your own," she said.

"Well, you didn't leave me much choice, did you? You were trying to make everyone believe I was a better person than I am, and I had to show them that you are the better of us two. In addition, I really didn't want to deny it. I'm tired of denying it." He rose and walked over to her. He stood in front of her, but didn't touch her.

"Tired of denying it? Hell, Malfoy, you have been saying it for years now. Apparently all my friends and colleagues have already known that you loved me even before I did," she said. "Merlin, Malfoy, I've loved you forever, how could I not have known that?"

"How indeed?" he agreed.

"I've been in denial all this time," she reiterated.

"And isn't that a shame," he answered.

"Yes, it is," she agreed. She looked at her feet. He put a finger under her chin and forced her head up, to make her look at him.

"Why was it that everyone else figured it out, and you never did?" he asked.

"Figured out what? That you have loved me for years or that I have loved you for years?" she asked.

He could not help but smile. "Damn, Granger, its bloody well time you figured the second one out," he said. "I knew you loved me, even if you didn't. You've finally proved my theory, that you've always loved me as much as I've loved you."

"Why didn't you just tell me?" she asked.

He laughed, threw his hands in the air, and said, "You didn't even believe me all the times that I said that I loved you, so do you honestly think you would have believed me if I said that YOU loved ME? Get real, Granger." His hand went lightly to her cheek, cupped it softly, and he leaned in and kissed her lips.

As he parted from her, she said, "Well it would have been nice to have been clued in, that's all. I'm like the last person to know." She had to smile at her own statement. She added, "What are we going to do about the election? I don't want to continue with these games, and I don't think we know how to fight fair."

He pulled her over to sit on the couch. He sat down first, and pulled her to his lap. He wrapped his arms around her. He put his head on her shoulder, and kissed her collarbone. He lifted her arm, held her hand in his, and kissed her wrist.

"Draco, are you going to answer my question? What are we to do now?" she asked, turning slightly to look him.

"I thought I was answering your question," he laughed. "Sorry, I guess I was ravishing you instead. Those two things are so closely related."

She touched his face with one finger. She rimmed his mouth with the same finger, and kissed him once more. She said, "And to think, I wanted to kill you earlier."

"Do tell, and why was that?" he asked.

"Oh, the reasons I want to kill you changes from day to day, so frankly, I'm not sure why you were thrown into the fray today. I do remember, I wanted to kill Anthony first, Percy second, you third and Blaise fourth. Yes, definitely in that order, but now that you claimed to the world that you love me, I would change that order slightly. Put Zabini before you."

Draco gave a clipped laugh and entwined her fingers in his. He kissed her inner elbow and said, "Why kill me at all? Why not give me a reprieve, a pardon so to speak; since I did indeed say that I loved you, in front of the whole world, and you didn't even say it back, well, you said it back, but so quietly that only I heard you. The headlines tomorrow will say that I'm a lovesick fool who loves his opponent with unrequited love."

"Fine, you're off my hit list, but cross me again," she kissed his jaw line with three little kisses, "and you shall die."

"Duly noted," he said. He pushed her to her back suddenly, so that her back was against the sofa seat, and her legs were still on his lap. His hand went from her knee to her thigh, under her dress. He added, "What colour knickers do you have on today?"

"Come find out, Malfoy, if you dare," she grinned.

He smiled widely and said, "Bloody hell, Granger! That should be on your posters. 'Come find out what colour knickers I have on, mates'. I bet you would win hands down. Speaking of hands…" he trailed off as both his hands continued up her dress.

There was a knock at her door. She tried to stand, but he put a hand on her stomach to hold her down. He said, "Come in."

She looked at him and said, "It's my office, I decide who comes in and who doesn't."

"Is that important?" he asked.

She tried to get off the sofa, put he moved her legs so that they were trapped underneath one of his. She leaned up on her elbows and said, "There are boundaries, Malfoy. You have to learn to respect that. This is my office, so I say who comes in and who doesn't. Also, I'm in a compromising position here."

"I didn't see the problem with saying, 'come in', and as for your position, only those with a dirty mind would deduce that my hands under your dress were there for a perverted reason," he gleamed.

A man cleared his throat. They both finally turned to look at who had entered. It was Blaise Zabini. Draco stood up so quickly that Hermione fell to the ground. Draco stepped over her to approach his former 'friend'.

From the ground, Hermione said, "Don't help me up, or anything." She struggled to her knees as Draco pushed Blaise toward the door.

"Get out of here, Zabini," Draco said.

"Didn't you hear her?" Blaise asked. "It's her office, if she wants me to leave, I will, however, I think you both might want to hear me out, because while I was digging up dirt on her for you, and you for her, I found some other things that might be advantageous to both of you. May I sit?" Without waiting for approval, he sat down on the couch where the lovers had just sat. He placed his arm over the back of the sofa and crossed his legs.

Draco locked Hermione's door, and sat down on her desk. She finally stood and sat on the other end of the couch. Draco said, "Well, apparently we're waiting. Talk Zabini, because I heard that earlier Granger wanted us both dead, and while I'm sure she has changed her mind about me, your fate is dubious at best. Talk."

Blaise grinned, turned toward Hermione, and raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to kill me?"

Hermione said with a perfectly straight face, and no sign of anger, "I still do actually, so I concur with Malfoy. Start talking, and depending on what you have to say, you might or not might live to walk out of here."

Blaise laughed. "Okay, here goes."


	22. Chapter 21

**All Characters belong to JK Rowling

**Chapter 21 – Hermione Claims she's Never Giving Draco up, Ever**

(Present Day)

"Don't you find it curious that Anthony Goldstein is so intent on Hermione running for Minister? Him and Percy both? If it's so important to him, why doesn't he run? Have you ever given that a thought? I have," Blaise said, "And I found the answer to that question quite interesting."

"So why isn't he running?" Hermione asked.

Draco asked, "Because he's a wanker?"

"That's a good reason as well, but what I uncovered is even better," Blaise said. Hermione leaned closer to him.

"Well?" she urged.

"Information like that isn't free, Hermione, not even for you," Blaise said. He touched her hand. He pulled his own hand back quickly, when he heard Draco call him a bad name under his breath.

Draco said, "Don't touch her, and just tell me how much you want, Blaise."

"You can't give me what I want, Malfoy. Only Hermione can do that," he revealed, turning to look at Draco. He added, "Goldstein has political ambitions, but the man wasn't a Ravenclaw for nothing. He's one of those power hungry people, who are warped by his quest for power, those types of people are scary, and do you want to know why? Because he is perfectly content to sit behind the scenes, reap all of the rewards, as long as he's the one running the show. He's a master puppeteer, and you, my dear Hermione, are the puppet." He turned to look at her.

Hermione was affronted. She stood up and said, "I'm nobody's puppet!"

Blaise answered, "Yes, I'm afraid he's beginning to find that out, and he's tried very hard to manipulate both you and Malfoy, and he's failing miserably, but only because you two are so unpredictable. He planned on you finding him and Ron, did you know that?"

Hermione was shocked. She said, "No, he wouldn't do that, would he?"

Draco stood to face him and said, "Okay, so you told us one little thing that we don't already know, now tell us something important!"

"Let me finish, Malfoy, I'll give you one more tidbit for free. Percy Weasley isn't ill. Not at all," Blaise boasted.

Hermione sat down next to him again and said, "Yes he is. He told me just this morning that he's getting worse, and that he might not even be able to wait for the election to step down. If he has to step down now, I'm afraid, since I'm Undersecretary, I would be forced to take his place until the election."

"How convenient, for Anthony," Blaise said cryptically.

"What do you know?" Draco demanded.

"I know that Percy Weasley is no more ill than you are Malfoy," Blaise said haughtily. "Goldstein not only hired me to dig up dirt on you, Malfoy. He hired me to dig up dirt on the Minister, and coincidently, it was before he became mysteriously ill."

Hermione put her hand on Blaise's arm. He turned to look at her as she said, "Do you mean Anthony is forcing Percy out of office, by blackmail or something, because Percy seems just as driven to get me in the office as Anthony."

"Well, he would be, wouldn't he?" Blaise said. "Goldstein is blackmailing him, and it's something good, or rather, bad, but juicy."

Hermione looked at Draco and then back to Blaise. She said, "What do you want in exchange for this information."

Draco wanted to know the scoop as well, but he already had an idea what Blaise wanted, and if it was what he thought, there was no way in hell he would let Blaise have it, so he stood up and said, "Even if we know this gossip, how will it help us? It won't, therefore, keep your information to yourself."

"I think I would rather answer Hermione's question, Malfoy," Blaise said. He turned back to Hermione and said, "In exchange for this information, you only have to do me one small favour."

"What?" she asked. "Don't bait us if you don't want us to bite. Just tell us what you want."

"Stop seeing Malfoy," he said.

This shocked Hermione so much that she actually fell off the couch again. He leaned down to help her up, but Draco moved there quicker. He picked her up and pushed her toward the door.

"What the hell, Zabini," Draco said. He turned to Hermione and said, "Leave, Hermione. I'll take care of Zabini."

Blaise grinned and stood up. "Remember, this is her office, Malfoy. You see, you don't have enough money, no, let me rephrase, you have enough money, but no amount of your money can tempt me. No, I want Hermione to kick your arse to the curb. I'm not stupid enough to say that I want her for myself, I gave up on that a long time ago; however, I don't want her with you, either."

Hermione stepped around Draco and said to Blaise, "Why would you ask that of me? I have waited for someone to make me happy for a long time."

Draco smiled. Blaise frowned as he reached for Hermione, and pulled on her arm, to usher her closer to him. He put his hand on her face, which made Draco cringe. He stepped between them, and slapped Blaise's hand away. Blaise sat back down and said, "He won't make you happy, Hermione. He will only hurt you. He has hurt you already, hasn't he? He's not capable of loving you. Give him up now, and I will give you the information I know, plus something that I have on Goldstein, which will crush him. He will back off from Percy, Percy can continue as Minister, you will be off the hook, and all will be well."

"But I won't have Draco," she said, taking Draco's hand.

"That's true, but the way I see it, if you are really as selfless as you have always seemed to be, you would put the happiness of other's before you own," Blaise said.

Draco said, "What a load of rubbish! Now who's trying to play her? You're trying to make her feel guilty. I love her!"

"Yeah, you said that already, out there in front of everyone, and my oh my, won't that help you get the votes? You're the one playing her. Using her for votes, for your own advantage. How much do you want to win, Malfoy?" Blaise stood up again. "You told everyone out there you only entered the race to make her love you, and while that is partially true, I'm sure, you're also power hungry." Blaise stood toe to toe with Malfoy and pointed his finger at his chest. For the first time, his voice raised as he said, "You want the status, the legitimacy of the office! You want to achieve something no Malfoy has ever achieved before, which is respectability! You want to be Minister more than you let on, Malfoy, you know you do."

Hermione walked between the two, parting them. She put her hands on Draco's chest and said, "If all of that is true, who cares what Blaise has to say. Who cares what Anthony is hiding? Who cares why Percy is stepping down? I think those are honourable reasons to run for Minister, and I'll step down, gladly, if that's what you really want, and if those are the real reasons you want it."

Draco put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Zabini's an idiot and knows nothing about me!" Unfortunately, Blaise actually hit the nail on the head, as much as it pained Draco to think it. He did want to be Minister, and for all the reasons Blaise claimed, but he was not using Hermione!

Blaise crossed over to sit on Hermione's desk. He said, "Fine, deny it, I don't care. Destroy lives, live your lie. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." He remained where he sat, with no intention of leaving yet.

Draco said, "I can safely say for both of us that you can leave, Blaise. We don't need your information. If Anthony has something on Percy, that's his problem, not mine, and not Granger's."

Blaise smiled. He looked over at Hermione. He said, "Is that how you feel, as well. Should a long time friend of yours, someone who has been almost like an older brother to you, who took you under his wing, gave you a chance here at the Ministry, really suffer just because you won't relieve him of his suffering. It's in your hands, Hermione. Put Anthony in his place. Restore a good man and a good Minister of Magic to his rightful position. It's up to you. It all rest on your shoulders."

She was torn, and she didn't know what to do.

She sat down on the couch and said, "Don't you care for me, even a little bit, Blaise? Doesn't our past relationship mean anything to you? I don't love you anymore, and I know you don't love me anymore, so why ask this of me? Why make it all fall on me?" She hung her head.

Draco Malfoy wanted to kick Blaise Zabini in the balls. He was going to act on his thought, when Blaise said, "I know you have integrity, Hermione. I know you'll do what is right. That's one of your most irritating qualities, and one of the reasons why people like Malfoy and I aren't good enough for you. You see, I'm not as good as you always thought I was. I'm selfish. If I cannot have you, I certainly don't want a bastard like Malfoy to have you. He's ten times the creep I am. Think about my offer. I'll be in touch." He went to the door, and showed himself out, leaving the door ajar.

Draco was angry enough to spit nails. He said, "That makes no sense! Why would he want us to stop seeing each other if he didn't want you for himself! You aren't some common whore who can be bought and sold!"

Hermione sunk back into the sofa, and put her head against the pillow. As she looked up at the ceiling she said, "He doesn't love me! You're right, so why would he want that? He broke up with me all those years ago; I didn't break up with him. He didn't want to be with a Muggle-born, he told me that. He hurt me, back then, because I really thought I cared for him."

"Well, either he lied back then, or he's lying now, but if he found out information on Goldstein, then we can, too," Draco said. He sat beside her and held her hand. "I won't let that bastard use you. I am so tired of people trying to use you, because of your goodness and wholesomeness. They want to taint you. I won't let them."

Hermione said, "You wouldn't use me, would you?" She didn't know what to believe anymore.

He kissed the top of her hand. "My stars, Granger! I haven't fought this hard for this many years to make you love me as much as I love you to only use you to win a bloody election!"

Hermione gave his hand a squeeze. She said, "Then we have some sleuthing to do, Malfoy."

Harry Potter walked in the open door and said, "Maybe I can help. I am tired of people using the people I love, too. I've been known to uncover things before, and I dare say I have a lot more connections than bloody, Blaise Zabini."

Hermione went to hug Harry. "How long were you out there, Harry?"

"Long enough to know that you two apparently really love each other and you need my help, and that's enough for me," Harry answered.

* * *

_Flashback:_

Hermione opened a gauche, tasteless, big red heart with glitter, which stuck to her hands and fell on her desk. Inside it said, "_**Please be my Valentine. I'm sorry. Love, Anthony."  
**  
She said, "Ugh!" She threw the heart away, and brushed her hands together, to remove the red glitter. "Glitter should be outlawed!" Hermione told her assistant, who laughed. "That will be the next law I will try to pass." Hermione had her fill of Anthony, the git, Goldstein. Ever since Christmas, she had decided to give him up for good. She hoped it would last._

On the corner of her desk was another card. This one attached to a small black box, with a red silk ribbon. She removed the card from the package, put the package in her jacket pocket, and started to open the card when her assistant reminded her about their meeting. "Hermione, we're going to be late for the final vote."

"Oh, right," she said. She picked up a folder from her desk, deposited the envelope within, and followed her assistant to the gallery. The Wizengamot was meeting to vote on a very special piece of legislature, which the Minister had been hoping to pass into law. It was a sanction, of sorts, against purebloods. It would tax them at a higher rate than other wizarding families, but only those families who had more than five generations or more of purebloods in their families. This was to encourage mixed marriages, as well as to impose higher taxes on those families who frankly could most afford them.

In addition, an added bonus was a one-time marriage tax for all purebloods who still conducted arranged marriages.

Oddly enough, Draco Malfoy was a strong proponent for the new law. He had been helping Percy to convince other pureblood families to go along with the law as well. He had a few changes he wanted made, but overall, he supported it.

As Hermione entered the gallery, she took a seat high up on the left right hand side. The members of the Wizengamot sat down in the lower levels, in their entire splendor. The Minister took the podium. Hermione put her folder on the ledge in front of her, and her bag under her seat. She heard someone say, "Excuse me." She stood up so the person in question could make their way down the aisle. She looked up and it was Draco. He sat down two seats from her. He left an empty chair between them.

From that point on, Hermione was unmindful to anything that was said. Instead, she could not take her attention off the blond man sitting to her right, who sat there in all his glory. She thought he really was quite handsome. She had not realized until that moment that she had missed him slightly. She had only seen him twice since the incident at Christmas.

Once was on Christmas day. She was on her way to the Burrow, having spent Christmas Eve with her mum and dad. He stopped by her house, right before she left. She answered the door in her coat, while putting on her gloves, and said, "Oh, Draco, Happy Christmas."

"Am I interrupting?" he asked. "You're apparently going out, so I should leave," he added. "I just wanted to give you something. Now, just because it's Christmas, don't get it in your mind that it's a Christmas present or anything. I actually found it in the trash. I'm not even sure what it is. I thought you might want it, however."

He handed it to her. She said, "Come in for a moment. I have a few minutes to spare." She opened the door and he stepped in, as she took off her gloves.

He looked around and said, "Hey, you bought some more things for your house, it looks nice."

"Thank you," she said. She started to unwrap the present. "Funny how nicely this was wrapped for something you found in the trash," she joked. It was a very expensive book on Godric Gryffindor. It was leather bound, and the pages had gold gild and the front cover was embossed with what looked to be solid gold lettering. She fingered the pages carefully, and said, "Wow, this is beautiful, and expensive looking."

She started to hand it to him and he said, "No, I bought that for you, so don't you dare say you can't take it because it's too expensive!" He put his hands in the air.

"No, I'm going to take it. I was handing it to you while I took off my coat, silly." Hermione handed him the book, and took off her coat.

"Silly? You called me silly? Okay. Weren't you leaving, though?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. She sat on her couch and opened the book. He moved her coat and sat beside her. "Thanks, Draco."

"Sure," he answered. He stood back up and said, "Well, Happy Christmas. I have to go to my parents, so say a prayer for me."

She laughed and stood up as well. She said, "Oh, by the way, thanks again for helping me in the alleyway the other night. I'm sorry I didn't stay and thank you in person."

"Yes, I received your note, and you are very welcome," he returned. He actually blushed. Hermione put a hand on his shoulder, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek swiftly. She thought she would give him something to blush about, if he was going to take the trouble to blush and all.

He put his hand on his face and said, "Have you figured out my theory yet?"

"No, just tell me," she pouted.

"You're smart. I hope you figure it out, and soon," he smiled. He picked up her coat and said, "Let me help you with you jacket." She placed her arms in the jacket. He turned her around and buttoned the top button. She thought it was one of the most intimate things anyone had ever done for her. He walked out of her house, whistling as he left.

The second time she had seen him, after what she was referring to as the 'alley incident', was two weeks ago at a meeting for the proposal of this very law they were now trying to pass. Unlike the nice encounter on Christmas day, that second encounter turned out terrible.

Draco had made an innocent enough remark that purebloods had to concede to everything nowadays, and how even the Minister, as a pureblood, should understand as a pureblood, that not everything was black and white. That not all purebloods were evil, just as not all half bloods were good and all Muggle-borns saints.

Hermione made a comment about the fact that all Death Eaters were purebloods and perhaps that was why purebloods had a bad reputation.

Draco asked her how much more blood did she want the purebloods to bleed. He seemed angry.

She said that as long as they bled the same colour of blood as the half bloods and Muggle-borns she didn't care if they bled to death.

Draco told her that didn't make sense.

She said that it made sense to anyone with half a brain, so when he grew at least half of one, maybe he would understand.

Draco told her that someone of her low blood status would never understand what someone like him went through.

Hermione told him that someone of his blood status would never understand what someone like her went through.

He said just because her blood was inferior did not mean that she should have special concessions made.

She told him to stop talking!

He told her to stop talking out of her arse!

She told him to stop being a pureblood elitist!

He told her to stop being a bitch!

She called him a no good, pureblood, son of a Death Eater!

He called her a Mudblood!

To Hermione's horror, and to the horror of all the other people in the room, she started to cry, more out of anger than anything else. Damn tears! Therefore, she said something she had not said for a very long time, and something that she hadn't felt for a very long time, but the words just seemed to spill out, as she said, "I hate you Draco Mafloy!"

He stood up, excused himself, told the Minister he would be in touch, and he left. She ran out of the room, embarrassed.

And that was the last time she saw him.

Until today.

All the nice little encounters they had before that, like shopping for furniture, the nice little incident in the stairwell, giving him the picture at the department store, saving her life in the alley, and even her gift from him on Christmas day, all of those things vanished with one little sentence. When she told him that she hated him.

She had said it before. Why did it matter if she said it again? Before, he always responded differently. Before, he either laughed, acted as if it did not matter, or told her that he loved her as a comeback. He never just got up and left before.

Everything was gone with one, 'Mudblood' from him and one, 'I hate you' from her.

Hermione tried to pay attention to what Percy said to the Wizengamot. She really did, but before she knew it, everyone was rising out of his or her seats. The session was over, and she didn't even know how the vote went. She looked over, and Draco was already gone from his seat. She stayed in her chair, until the last person left the gallery.

Hermione assistant came back in large auditorium. She said, "Hermione, do you mind if I leave early this afternoon? My husband is planning a romantic dinner for Valentine's Day."

"You can leave if you tell me, did the law pass?" Hermione asked.

Her assistant smiled and said, "Yes, it passed. They gave into Draco Malfoy's dispensations to a degree, but the tax increase passed. Goodbye, Hermione. Have a nice Valentine's Day." The girl turned and walked out of the room. Hermione reached for the folder in front of her, and opened it to reveal the card.

She wondered who it was from, and decided there was one way to find out, so she opened it. As she slipped her finger under the flap of the envelope, she felt his presence, as he sat behind her. Without stopping what she was doing, she said, "My stalker returns."

"Who's the card from, Granger?" he asked. He leaned forward in his seat, and put his arm on the back of her chair.

"I don't know yet, Mafloy," she said, somewhat condescending. She took out the card. It was beautiful. It was ornate, without being gaudy. It did not have one damn piece of glitter. She opened it and read aloud, "If you were my valentine, I would give you anything you wanted, I would promise you the world, but since you aren't, and probably never will be, I will have to be content with me giving you whatever I want. What I want is for you to forgive me. I am sorry. Love, Draco."

Hermione put the card back in the envelope. She heard him say from behind, "That word I called you is an ugly word for a pretty girl, and I really am sorry. Am I forgiven?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned slightly in her chair, and leaned her cheek down to touch his hand. Without looking at him she said, "I said I hated you. That wasn't nice either."

"No, but I've come to expect it, even anticipate it, and I have even deserved it a few times. I would say of the fifteen times that you have said that you hated me in the past few years, this one was the most deserved," he said.

She turned to look at him. He stood and came to sit next to her. She was aware that his leg touched hers. "I only said it fifteen times? I would have sworn I said it more than that," she joked.

"You've probably thought it more, and I am sure you've said it to other people about me, but to my face, you've said it exactly fifteen times. I'm very good with numbers, so believe me on this one. You said it the first day of University, you said it that time I stomped on your foot on purpose, you said it that time you were sick, and you said it at graduation, you said…" She put her hand on his mouth.

"Okay, I believe you. I apologize, maybe not for all those times, but for this last time. I'm sure you'll say or do something in the future that will warrant a good, 'I hate you, Malfoy' again, but for now, I am sorry."

"Splendid. Well, Happy Valentine's Day. Open your present when you get home, not now, okay?" he said, standing. She stood as well. She nodded her head. Her hand went in her pocket, to feel the small black box. He reached over to touch her hair. He pulled on one of her curls, and smiled. He said, "You have glitter in your hair." He touched her face and said, "Oh, by the way, I love you, Hermione, I really do. I think I was supposed to say that after you said that you hated me, but I forgot, so I'm saying it now. That's the only reason I am saying it, though."

He smiled and walked away. She went home and opened her present. Inside was a pair of grey pearl earrings, with blue sapphires. She sat down and cried, and she didn't know why.

* * *

Present Day:

Draco apparated with her to her house. She said, "Harry will figure everything out, and I don't care if I have to win this damn election, I'm not giving you up, either, Malfoy. You say that you've loved me for a very long time and that you're not giving me up, well I've denied loving you for just as long, and I swear nothing will make me give you up, nothing. If that makes me selfish, than call me selfish."

He gave her a funny look and said, "Okay, you're selfish." He pulled on her hand, and pulled her to him. He said, "The way I figure it, you deserve to be selfish, Hermione. Come on; let us go be selfish together. I have a wonderful date planned. Now that we are out of the closet, so to speak, thanks to Blaise, I think we should blatantly flaunt our love, go out on the town, have a wonderful evening, and then go back to my house for mind-blowing sex. I have wanted to take you on a real live date forever, Hermione. Please, go out with me tonight."

She could not help but smile. She bit down on her bottom lip and walked over to him, and placed her hands on his chest, with her head right above her hands. He placed his arms around her body. She said, "You have to promise me something, if I do."

"I will promise you anything, I told you that once on a Valentine's card and I mean it to this day. What can I promise you?" he asked.

"Can we have the mind-blowing sex first?" she asked.

"I will say this again, you have my vote for Minister, Granger." He picked her up and took her to her bedroom.


	23. Chapter 22

**All Characters belong to JK Rowling

**Chapter 22** – **Draco Recalls the Day he Fell in Love with Hermione**

Present Day:

With her hand gently guiding him from the bedroom doorway to the middle of the bedroom, Hermione Granger had a goal, a purpose, and a single objection. She wanted to show Draco Malfoy how much she loved him. Taking his hand, she pulled him in the bedroom, and stood him in front of the dresser. She kicked off her shoes and said, "I won't need those for a while."

"Really, not planning on walking all over me?" he asked.

"Not unless you want me to," she said, a blush rising to her cheeks. She reached around and unzipped her dress. It slid down her arms. She pulled it off and placed it across a chair. She had a half slip on, and she tugged it off as well.

"Stockings and garter-belt, Granger?" he asked, as his hand reached out to skim the silk top of one stocking.

"I learned my lesson," she said. She placed one leg on the bed, and unrolled the first stocking. He crossed his arms. He was enjoying himself. As she began to unroll the second stocking, he could scarcely believe all of this was real. Was the woman he had loved for so very long really here in front of him? When did this happen? Did she really love him in return? Was he really standing right before her, as she undressed? Was she real, flesh and blood? He swallowed hard and blinked his eyes. 'Please, be real', he thought. Please be real.

She was now standing in front of him in nothing but her bra and knickers. She walked up to him and he stroked her cheek. "Are you real?" he asked. He almost laughed at his own idiotic question. When a smile flashed across her beautiful face, he had his answer.

The real Hermione Granger was standing right in front of him, naked before his eyes, as she shed the last barrier that stood between her and nudity. She was more beautiful in 'the flesh' than in all the dreams he had, had over the years. He looked at her once more and said, "You are more beautiful today than the day I fell in love with you." He remembered that day as if it was yesterday.

_Flashback:_

_The Battle of Hogwarts, as it was called in later years, had been over for almost a year. The Ministry had decided to hold a memorial service there to commemorate all those who had given their lives, to honour all those who lived to tell the tale, and all others who had given so much, and had lost so much, at a terrible cost.___

_Some people, like Draco, who had not lost anyone, and had not really fought, except in the last battle, came to offer their condolences and to start the healing that was necessary to carrying on with their lives. He came that day, to that site, to offer his apology, to seek redemption, and to come to peace with the sins he had committed, and hopefully, to seek forgiveness.___

_It was a crisp autumn day, Hogwarts was as beautiful as ever, perhaps more so, because amongst the ruins from the battle, the old castle remained, like a beacon of hope, a hope for a future. It was a few days before the start of University. Draco had waited a year after the Battle of Hogwarts to start school, because he had to wait and see what happened to his parents before he started his own life. His parents had both been given relatively light sentences, which they were now serving, so Draco came to the ceremony alone. That was how he lived his life since that last battle, alone. Draco was given a full pardon. He wanted to be as far removed both physically and mentally from his family as he could. For once in his life, he wanted to be judged as the man he was, not as a 'Malfoy'. He wanted to be judged for his present and his future, and not his past misdeeds. Therefore, he came alone to the ceremony, and alone he would stay. Besides a few strange looks, and rude comments, most people didn't even acknowledge he was there.___

_He saw Hermione Granger there that day. He had heard that she was about to start University as well. She must have taken the year off to heal and to get reacquainted with her parents. At first, she was sitting between Potter and Weasley, with her head on one of their shoulders at all times. During most of the speeches, she bowed her head and there were several points during the ceremony in which she cried. When all three stood, at the insistence of the Minister of Magic, they did so, all three holding hands, and seemingly overwhelmed by the cheers and the applause. Draco stood and clapped as well. At first, out of duty, but as he really thought over all that they had done and gone through, and at no personal gain for themselves, he began to applaud them for personal reasons, to relay his gratitude. As they finally sat down, Harry's hand still holding hers, Ron's arm tight around her shoulders, he was reminded of how brave she was, and yet how fragile.___

_The papers had long ago published the accounts of their search for the Horcruxes and the demise of Voldemort. While Draco had a comfortable seventh year at school, the three of them fought tooth and nail just to survive, not only to survive, but for the survival of their world. For the first time in his whole life, Draco Malfoy was ashamed of his life. He was ashamed of his blood status and of his family. For the first time in his life, he saw her in a different light.___

_He admired her.___

_Moreover, he thought he might feel even more than that.___

_He had a stirring in his heart, which he could scarcely contain, let alone abide or understand.___

_Bless his soul; he thought he might love her.___

_After the ceremony, the crowd milled around. A large commemorative stone had been placed by the white grave containing the remains of their former headmaster. After the crowd thinned down some, Draco went to examine the stone. One side of the smooth expansive surface of the stone had the names of all those who had lost their lives and the other side had the names of those who had fought bravely.___

_He was in front of that side, reading the names at a glance, when he saw her name. His fingers reached out to touch each embossed letter. H, E, R, M, his fingertips slid smoothly across the valleys and planes of each engraved letter. He hadn't realized he had said her name aloud as he touched the letters, but he had, because as soon as he said, "Hermione Granger," her head peered around the other side of the great stone sculpture. She made eye contact with him, and he likewise with her. ___

_He felt as if he had been caught doing something wrong. Neither moved nor spoke. Beads of sweat started to form on his upper lip, and his throat became dry. His fingers of his left hand, unknown to him, remained on the letters of her name. His left hand, betrayer that is was, refused to move, even when he became aware that she was staring at it. His right hand balled into a fist at his side. She placed her right hand on top of his left, on the smooth stone, as her left hand reached for his right wrist. She smiled.___

_Simple gestures, which spoke volumes to him.___

_Uncommon acts, between such a woman as she, and such a man as he, and which were at one time deemed blasphemous, and which now seemed almost mandatory.___

_She finally spoke. "You know, Malfoy, things that happened between children don't have to shape the men and women that we become. We all made right and wrong choices, and it's what we do with those choices that matter. Whether they were right or wrong, they are over and done. All that matters is the here and now, and in the here and now, all that matters is whether we have learned from our mistakes. I forgive you for every mean thing or bad name, or misdeed, you ever did toward me, and I hold no illusions that this hard truth will be embraced by you, but it's standing in the way of my own future, so I had to say it, whether you wanted to hear it or not. Have a good life, Draco."___

_She removed her hand from on top of his, gave his other wrist a final squeeze, and made to walk away. He removed his left hand from the cold granite, because it felt as if it were on fire. He relaxed the fist he had so tightly formed, and he grabbed her left hand with his right. That motion shocked them both.___

_He felt like he held her for an eternity, when finally, quietly, and with respect and reserve, he said, "Thank you." He wanted to say more, he would have said more, but Potter started to walk toward them. He turned from her without a backwards glance.___

_He knew one truth, and would know it for the rest of his life. He loved her, and what was more, he thought he might have loved her for a very long time._

Present Day:

She stood before him, now totally nude, and she undid his tie. She wrapped it loosely across her shoulders, as she unbuttoned his shirt. She slipped it off his arms, and let if fall near their feet. She reached out and touched his face and said, "Is this how you've always dreamt it would be?"

She was a mind reader, he thought. "I love you," was his answer. It was the only thing he felt he ever needed to say to her, because he had tried to make her believe those words, and understand the meaning behind them, for so very long, that all other words paled in comparison.

As his tie dangled from her neck, he reached for both ends and brought her closer. He wrapped it around her waist and kissed her with pent up passion, pent up pain, and pent up fear. He would surrender to her if she wished it, mind, body, heart and even soul. His hands stroked her back and his lips stroked her lips. His tongue danced wildly inside her mouth, as if he were trying to tame a wild beast. He had fallen for her so hard, but not fast, slow, painfully, painfully, slow.

He had waited so long for her that it barely seemed possible that this was happening, that she was here in front of him, and that she had finally fallen too. That she was his, and he was hers.

When their lips parted, she reached down and unzipped his trousers, and moved them slowly, languidly, down his legs. Her fingers grazed his thighs as she let them travel down to his shoes. She removed his shoes and socks, and then his pants. She kneeled in front of him. He leaned back against her dresser.

She reached up and removed his last barrier, and soon he was as bare as she was. Her hands went up and down his legs again, to rest on his stomach, as her mouth kissed his thighs and hipbone. He was in heaven and hell, and she was his angel and his tormentor. She looked at his hard length, and then up in his eyes. He was filled with desire as he looked down upon her. Was she about to do what he imagined she was to do? Was it really about to finally happen? If this was another one of his dreams, he never wanted to wake up.

Her hands went up to stroke him from base to tip, hand over hand, softly, and then harder, pulling and teasing, all with a touch. His hand went down to trace her cheek. Her eyes came back up once, and the look in them was hard to distinguish, but he thought it was desire and love. Her stare diverted back to his body, and in one fluid movement, which was so perfectly choreographed that he thought it was rehearsed, like a ballet, she took her tongue slowly and stroked his rigid member up and down, before twirling the tip. Her hands stayed underneath, and when she finally took him full in her mouth, it was all he could do not to collapse right in front of her. His knees wanted to buckle, and he had to hold on tight to the dresser behind him.

He brought one hand to her hair, and grasped it, too hard he was sure. He tried not to pull or to push her toward him, but that too, took restrain and thought, and at that moment, all forms of reason left his brain, and he was in a haze of love and desire.

All his will power was honed in to focus his concentration of the motion of her mouth, as it moved back and forth, in and out. The suction, combined with her tongue and teeth as they skimmed him lightly, made his hips buck forward. He was at the end of his rope. Her mouth was so wet and moist, and warm, so incredibly warm.

He was going to die.

This was the pinnacle for him, and he had no choice but to die, he knew it. He was very close, he had never come this close this quickly, but then again, this was she. All the other women he had been with over the years, and there had been a fair few, paled in comparison. To think, sometimes when other women did this act on him, he would shut his eyes and imagine it was her, but knowing that this time it really was her, he saw how inadequate all the others were. This was real. This was the truth. None of the other women made him feel remotely as good as she did.

And it wasn't over yet.

She did this all for him, with no thoughts of gaining anything in return.

Right before he came, he pushed her away. He wouldn't do that to her, not her. He had no problem coming in other women's mouths, but not hers. Instead, he roughly pushed her back, and she looked up at him with hurt in her eyes. If he had any form of coherent speech at his beck and call he would have tried to explain, but as it was, it was all he could do to lift her by her shoulders, push her on her back on the bed, and enter her immediately, less he die from the pain.

She seemed ready to receive him, and after only a few short strokes, he came with the most intense orgasm he had ever experienced in his entire existence and that was saying a lot. He came in a burst that caused him to feel as if he were on the brink of passing out from the pain of it.

He rolled off her, wanting nothing more than to shut his eyes and recover. However, he was aware that she had not had the same life altering experience that he had just experienced, so he placed his hand at the juncture where just a moment ago, two had become one, and with his mouth traveling between her breasts and neck and face, his hand began to do the most marvelous things between her legs.

She started to come as well, and as she screamed his name, he sucked and pulled at her nipples with his mouth, before bringing his mouth down on hers to capture her scream, mid-scream. His hand sped up a bit, and finally her crash subsided, and her legs quivered, and then tightened around his hand. He brought his mouth back to her breasts, as she began to whimper. He put his hand flat against her wet core, willing her to calm down. She brought her arms up to cover her face, her breathing still erratic. He finally put both arms tightly around her and pulled her flush up against his body.

With his arms gently encompassing her body, holding her close, he kissed her closed eyelids. He said, "I can never hide anything from you ever again, for I really think I bared my soul to you, Granger."

Without opening her eyes she said, "You bared something, alright." He laughed and tickled her ribs. She opened her eyes and swatted at his hand.

She leaned up on her elbow, as he stayed on his back. She put her hand on his chest and said, "Do you think less of me because I initiated sex this time. Because I was so unabashed, brazen and wanton?"

He opened one eye and looked at her. "Is this a trick question, or a multiple choice? Am I suppose to say you were A.) Brazen, B.)Wanton, C.)Unabashed, or D.) All of the above."

"I'm serious, Draco Malfoy," she said, hitting his chest. "Are you repulsed because I did THAT to you, without you asking me to do it?" He opened both eyes and put his hand down on hers, as it rested on his chest.

He laughed loudly and then cursed. He said, "Gads, Granger, I'm always in need of a good laugh. That was perfect, really, more than perfect. I loved it, and you can do THAT anytime you want to do it, or don't do it, whatever you want, you stupid thing. Geesh, what a weird thing to worry about, I'm sure there is no man alive who would be upset over that."

She hid her face in his neck and said, "I wasn't very good, though, was I?"

He laughed again. She looked up at him and frowned. He laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes. "You were very good. I could tell you had been practicing."

"Oh shut up, idiot," she said, sitting up. She grabbed her top sheet and scooted to the edge of the bed. He reached out and grabbed the sheet.

"What the hell! Tell me what's going on in that overactive brain of yours, Granger," he said. He pulled on the sheet so hard that she fell backwards on to her back. He propped his body over hers, in the opposite direction, so that he was peering down at her, his bangs hanging down, his nose right on top of hers.

She said, "I just never did that very often. Anthony said I wasn't very good at it, and I never really enjoyed doing it to him." She turned her head, embarrassed. He moved so he was facing the same direction as she, and he leaned over her.

"He's a wanker. You were great, the best I ever had, but maybe it's different when you love the woman. Did you hate doing it to me?" He was slightly worried.

"No, that's the thing, it's the first time I ever really enjoyed doing it too, maybe because I love you as well, but at first, I thought I did something wrong, because you pushed me away," she said, her hand on his face.

"Well, you know, I didn't want to let it blow up in your face," he joked. She laughed so hard that her legs bent up to her waist. He added, "And frankly, Goldstein probably didn't like it because you don't have a dick dangling between your legs, but for me, that's a plus."

She laughed again and pushed him away as she sat up. She said, "You, Draco Malfoy, are a nutter. I'm going to go shower. Why don't you go to your house and shower and change, and pick me up in an hour for our date. I expect a very nice date tonight, and flowers would be nice as well, I'm just saying." She sauntered off to the bathroom, leaving him alone in the bedroom.

He stood up to collect his clothing. He noticed that everything on her dresser had been knocked over during the melee. He started to right everything, when he noticed that her top drawer was slightly ajar. He went to close the drawer, but instead, opened it. There were all her knickers, in assorted colours and styles. He smiled as he lifted one pair up and then he said, "You are a sick little bugger, Draco Malfoy." He started to shut her drawer, when he saw a folded piece of parchment. His curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it. It was the note he left her the other day. It wasn't a nice note, it merely said he would see her later, yet she kept it, and put it in a place of glory in her underwear drawer. He thought that was sweet. He folded it back and started to put it back underneath a blue pair, when he saw another note. He opened it as well, after all, in for a penny, in for a pound. It was the note he wrote her all those years ago, to thank her for the photograph.

Hell, she HAD loved him for a long time. He knew it, even if she didn't. He put that note back also. He looked around her room for parchment and pen, and after locating both, he wrote her a new note and stuck it in her dresser drawer for her to find later. He dressed quickly and hurried home. He had a date with the woman he loved tonight.

When he arrived back at her house, an hour later, she was waiting for him in her living room. He apparated to her door and knocked. She opened it and he gasped. She had a black v-neck dress on, with long sleeves. She had on the pearl and sapphire earrings he had given her that Valentine Day years before. She was a vision of loveliness.

"Are you real, Granger?" he asked for the second time that night.

He reached around and pinched her bum, to make sure she was real. She scowled and said, "Please, I do bruise, you know."

"I think there's enough fat back there that you shouldn't bruise," he said with a straight face. She banged his forehead with the flat of her hand.

"There's enough fat there, too, you shouldn't bruise, either," she concluded. She looked at him and said, "By the way, you look decent, as well."

"I didn't say you looked good or anything, so pretty presumptuous of you to jump to those conclusions," he said, with a pretend air of indifference.

"Oh, poppycock," she said. "By the way, I changed my wards so you can enter and leave at your leisure now, no more apparating to and from by the door."

"Really, you must like me or something," he said, holding his arm out to her. "I see the appeal, I really do. I am an incredible catch."

"At least you think so. Where are we going, because I still don't know that we should go out in public," she said, letting go of his arm suddenly.

"I have dinner planned at a very public restaurant, but in a very private dining room there, so come on, let's go," he answered, holding his arm out once more.

She took his arm and they disapparated.

They arrived at a restaurant called "Dorsey's" and Hermione laughed and said, "I can't usually afford to eat here."

"You still can't, so I'll pay," he offered.

"How kind," she said. After they ordered, and they were drinking their wine, she said, "Tell me the truth, was there any merit to what Blaise said earlier. Do you really want to be Minister for the respectability? To finally do something legitimate?"

"Yes, partially," he answered honestly. "Still, you're more important than the position."

"Maybe we can both get what we want," she leveled. "I just want to help people, and I have found that I have done a lot of good in my present position, so if that is what I do forever, I would be fine with that. Would you keep me on as Undersecretary?"

"I would love to keep you under me," he joked. "What else can I do for you?"

"Give me world peace," she said. "But, if that's not in your realm, at least promise me if you become Minister, you'll really do something valuable during your reign."

"I know, I could throw Goldstein in prison, but then again, all those men in there, it might seem like a reward, not a punishment," he chortled.

"You know, speaking of, I still sometimes can't believe him and Ron," Hermione said, as she started to eat her entrée.

"I know, the thought makes me ill, too, but let's eat without throwing up, shall we?" He motioned toward their food.

"No, I mean, Anthony was always so unkind about Ron. Not so much to his face, but he always spoke so demeaning of him to me. It used to be the main thing we fought over, and the main reason we would split up. He thought Ron had no manners, was boring, vapid and dumb."

"I think that too, so?" Draco said.

"So, first, that's not true, and second, if he disliked Ron so much as a human being, why did he start having an affair with him?" Hermione surmised.

"He's a sick pervert?" Draco guessed.

Hermione shook her head and said, "Be serious, I think I am onto something. I didn't even know Ron was gay, but of course, I didn't know Anthony was either, but if Anthony couldn't stand Ron as a person, what made him change his mind about him?"

Draco shrugged and said, "People change, Hermione. Maybe he secretly loved Weasel all this time, and Weasel was in denial, just like you and I." Draco kept a perfectly straight face. He was serious.

Hermione was just as serious. "No, I don't think you understand how much he hated Ron. He didn't just put him down to me, but to others as well. It's so confusing and puzzling. I mean, I knew Percy was gay all this time, but why would Ron hide the fact that he was?"

Draco choked on his lima beans. "WHAT!!!" He took a large chug of his wine. "PERCY IS GAY!?!"

Hermione took a deep intake of breath, realizing what she had just said. She put one hand over her mouth in horror, and then said, "Oh, Draco, please, please, please, don't tell a soul!! Only a few people know!"

"Does his wife?" Draco laughed. He slapped his hands on the table and said, "Dammit all to hell, why did I promise to fight fair? I could use this in so many wicked ways! Are you sure?"

"Yes, but like I said, you can't tell a soul!" she said. She looked around, even though no one else was in the room they were in, and said, "His marriage is a sham. Penelope knew he was gay when they married. As long as she got the prestige of being married to the Minister of Magic, along with the big house, and all the other perks, she was fine with it. It's a marriage of convenience for them both. But even his own family doesn't know. Ron doesn't even know. Only Harry and I, and only because we discovered it by accident."

"Ha! Granger! So that's how you got your job at the Ministry!" Draco laughed.

She threw a piece of bread at him and said, "How dare you! I was already in my position when I found out, and the thing is, he confirmed it to us, but he said that we were never to tell a soul, especially his family. Maybe Anthony found out and that's why he's blackmailing him."

"I don't think so," Draco said, seriously. "I mean, it might hurt his reputation for a while, but the people still love him as Minister, and I bet they would overlook that in a while. He could let this pass, and still be Minister. I think it has to be bigger than that, but that may be part of it. There has to be something more, something bigger than the fact that he would lose his position if people found out, because he's giving up his position anyway, so if that was it, wouldn't he chance it?"

"I never thought of that, and you're right, why would he give up his position to keep Anthony quiet, when the fact of the matter is if that's all Anthony has on him, he might not lose his job anyway?" Hermione agreed.

Draco thought for a moment and he said, "Are you sure though you never told Anthony?"

"I never told him, I swear, and knowing Percy, he's probably incredibly discreet, so I doubt that Anthony just found out somehow," she said.

"How did you and Pothead find out, then," he asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "God, don't tell me Potty and Percy had a fling!"

Hermione spit out her water. She took her napkin and wiped herself off and said, "No, you sicko! I can't tell you how we know; at least, I don't think that's pertinent to anything. Anyway, since Anthony was in the closet all those years, don't you think if he found that out on Percy, he would respect him, and not try to out him? Maybe Blaise was lying, maybe he knows nothing."

"Blaise Zabini is a lot of things, but surprising enough, he doesn't spout off falsehoods as truths. He knows something, and it's better than the Minister of Magic being gay, although, for the record, I still think that's pretty damn good. How many other Weasleys are gay? That dragon training brother isn't married, is he?"

"You aren't married either," was her answer to that.

That shut him up for a moment.

Hermione started to speak out loud again. She said, "It has to be something he would lose that's more important than losing the job he loves, because he might not lose that if people found out he's gay, and since he's losing that anyway, with his fake illness, it has to be something so much more." She dropped her fork as she realized something, and said, "DRACO!"

He looked at her shocked and said, "What is it? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"That's it!" she said.

"What, a heart attack?" he asked.

She pulled his hair and he winced and she said, "Please, use that muscle between your ears for something besides keeping your head inflated. Prove to me that your brain works, and that you are more than a pretty face!"

"Well, ouch, Granger," he said. "Your little adventures in Dracoland earlier tonight are relegated to a lower level since you just offended me so. Now, why are you babbling?"

She shook her head and said, "Well, you are pretty."

"Thank you, continue," he said, somewhat appeased.

"What if it's SOMEONE Percy is seeing that Anthony found out about, and in which Percy is trying to keep hidden?" Hermione said.

"An affair?" Draco asked. "See, it could be Potter," Draco said with a smile.

"Harry's not gay!" Hermione shouted.

"Like you would know a gay man if you saw one! You aren't the expert you think you are. Half the men in your past are gay."

"Shut up, and follow me for a moment, think about this," she said wearily.

"Maybe it's Percy and Blaise," Draco said. She gave him a dirty look and he said, "It stands to reason. Blaise was your ex-boyfriend too."

"All my ex-boyfriends aren't gay!" she shouted. She stood up. She was no longer in the mood for fun and games. "You're ruining our first date!"

"You're the one ruining it with all this conjecture! Let's have a nice evening, and think about all the crap later," he pleaded. Hermione sat back down and Draco said, "You know, you do seem to convert them, I take a very big chance continuing to see you, I dare say."

"Draco, please, be serious for moment," she said, her head in her hands, although she was hiding a smile.

"We might have to get married, because that might be what keeps me from changing. The fact that you don't marry them is what changes them," he reasoned.

She looked up at him and said, "That better not be a serious marriage proposal, because I will strangle you if it is."

In fact, it wasn't, but if he thought she would have said yes, he would have told her it was. He reached over for her hand and said, "Let's continue our dinner, and no more talk of elections, or gay ex-boyfriends, or marriage proposals, real or imaginary, agreed?" She nodded and smiled. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

She said, "I need to visit the lady's room."

"No thanks, I've had enough sex for now," he said, cutting his steak. She sat back down and glared at him. He looked up and said, "But if you need to go alone, go on ahead."

She shook her head, muttered an obscenity under her breath, and stood up to go to the bathroom. On her way back to the private dining room, the same reporter who had broken the story of their relationship accosted her. She said, "Hello, Miss Granger. Here on a date, I suppose?"

"I suppose," Hermione said exasperated. "Listen, I know we promised you the exclusive, but we had no idea it would all come down like that, so I am sorry."

"No, that's fine; I still got the byline, so my paper is pleased. I'm working on the story from another angle now, anyway," the young girl said. "Perhaps you know my date, Miss Granger." The girl pointed to her table. Sitting there, with a smile on his face, was Blaise Zabini. Hermione went white as a sheet.

She walked over to the girl's table, and leaned down to Blaise. "We have to talk."

"Only if you're going to tell me what I want to hear, otherwise, this young reporter is going to get an earful," Blaise said with a smile.

Hermione said softly, so that reporter couldn't hear, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Leave here with me, now, and I'll tell you why," Blaise said. He stood, and took her arm, without waiting for her response.

"Let me go tell Draco that I'm leaving," she said.

Blaise looked at the reporter and said, "Draco Malfoy is in the private dining room upstairs. Why don't you go up there and tell him that his date left with Blaise Zabini. Be sure you get my name right." He turned back to Hermione and said, "Come on, Hermione, I know your curiosity is getting the best of you. At least come with me tonight and hear what I have to say. You don't have to give me your final answer on Malfoy tonight."

"I don't like you anymore, Blaise," she said, taking his arm.

He put his hand over hers and said, "I can live with that." He disapparated them away


	24. Chapter 23

**All Characters belong to JK Rowling

**Chapter 23 ****–**** Hermione takes Draco to Harry's House**

Present Day:

"Where are we?" Hermione asked, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.

"My house," Blaise answered.

"Fine, just tell me, why you were with that reporter? Aren't you even going to give me time to make my decision?" she asked.

He laughed and said, "I would give you all the time in the world, if I thought it would make a difference, but let's be real with each other, Hermione, I could give you time, and we both know what your answer is going to be."

"That's right," she answered, "my answer will be that I love him. So tell the world your secrets, but leave us alone. If it ends that neither of us win the election, we'll be fine with that."

He sat down on a large black leather sofa, and pointed his wand at the fireplace. Bright embers began to glow. He said, "And you speak for both of you, yourself and Malfoy?"

She turned to look at him and said, "I believe I do. He loves me, has for a long time, apparently, and he would give it all up for me, of that I'm sure."

"Come here, Hermione." He patted the couch.

"Blaise, please, why are you doing this? We were friends, you and I. You were always kind to me. Why ruin my only chance at happiness? You aren't that much of a heel, so why?"

"Come here, Hermione," he repeated. This time he held out his hand.

She should not trust him? In fact, she did not trust him, but she walked over to the couch and sat down.

Draco had begun to pace the little private dining room. Where was she? He was about to go find her when there was a knock on the door. It was the reporter from theatre. "What the hell do you want?"

"I wanted the story of the century, but since that's not going to happen now, I wanted to give you a message. Your 'date', Miss Granger, went off with my 'date', Mr. Zabini, and I have no idea where they went."

Draco cursed loudly and threw down several hundred galleons on the table. He looked at the girl and said, "What were you doing here with Zabini?"

"Trying to get another story, of course," she said unabashed.

Draco made another rude comment, and then disapparated. He arrived outside Harry Potter's house. He only knew where Boy wonder lived because one time, a long time ago, he brought Hermione here.

_Flashback:_

_It had been six months since Valentine's Day. Draco had not seen Hermione in all that time, because he had gone to the south of France, to sell his family's estate, as well as to close down the company's office there. He was now acting President of the company, although his father kept the title. He was trying to consolidate all their holdings, so they could be based primarily out of London. ___

_His parents spent six months of the year in Italy, and the rest at the Manor, so they had no need for their home in France. Pity really, Draco thought to himself, as he would like to live there someday, with his wife, perhaps. That was probably a long way off, since the only woman he had ever loved barely acknowledged him, it would be better to sell the place, rather than have it be empty and abandoned.___

_He arrived back to London in the middle of the worst heat wave the blasted city had ever known. How Draco hated summer. He liked cold weather. He liked the clothing better, the recreation better, and the weather better. He hated summer. It did have its upside, however, he realized, as he walked across the green grass of a park near the Ministry of Magic, and he saw 'Her' in a barely there, blue sundress. He had called on her at the Ministry, was told by her assistant that she was in the park, and that she had taken the afternoon off to relax. ___

_He had to make up some excuse for being there. He did not want her really to think he was stalking her, albeit that was the truth. He was going to use 'business' as his excuse for being at the Ministry, but what could he use as his excuse for coming to a Muggle park?___

_He watched her as she sat on a blanket, and removed her shoes. Her legs were long and tanned. The sundress showed ample cleavage and the small straps, which held it up, would be so easy to untie. That was when he came up with a dastardly thought. He sat under a tree, rolled up his sleeves, and with stealth that would make his father happy, he deftly removed his wand, so no Muggles could see, and with one small flick, the right strap untied.___

_She looked mildly annoyed as she tied the two long strings back on that shoulder. She picked up a spoon, and began to eat some ice cream. He waited until she was again engrossed in her book, and he untied the same strap. He was going to untie the other, but that might look suspicious.___

_She put her small carton and spoon down, looked around, and saw him. He tried to look nonchalant, but failed miserably, therefore he decided to own up, and he waved. He pocketed his wand, and walked over to her blanket.___

_"Untying a woman's straps, Malfoy? Really?" she said from the blanket. He came up to her and sat beside her. She had slipped off her sandals, so he picked one up and held it for a second, before placing it back down. ___

_"I'm actually very good at removing all sorts of women's clothing, do you want to see?" he asked.___

_"No thank you. I didn't know you were back in England," she said conversationally.___

_"I didn't know you knew I was gone," he said in return.___

_"Well, when your stalker is gone for six months, a victim notices these things," she answered.___

_"Best not to make light, that's a serious crime, you know," he said. He reached down and picked up her book. He felt overwhelmed, and did not know why.___

_She took another bite of ice cream and said, "Where have you been all these months?"___

_"I had business to attend," he said. "Did you miss me?"___

_"I hardly think so," she answered.___

_"You wound me, Granger, you really do," he said, smiling.___

_"Do you want a bite of my ice cream?" she asked, holding up a white plastic spoon.___

_"I want a bite," he said, stopping. He looked at her and she began to blush, so he hastened to add, "Of ice cream. Wait, what flavor is it? I'm allergic to strawberry."___

_"Duly noted, next time I think about killing you, I'll feed you strawberries." She laughed. "Its vanilla and toffee," she finally answered, holding up the carton. ___

_"Okay, give it here." He held out his hand. ___

_"Do you mind sharing my spoon?" she asked. He looked at her as if she was crazy, and he shook his head in amazement, grabbed the spoon and the carton, and took a big bite.___

_"Good," he said. He offered it back to her and she shook her head.___

_"I've had enough," she said.___

_"Oh, I see, afraid of eating after me? You might get pureblood germs," he teased, taking another large bite.___

_"That's it exactly," she said. He acted offended, so she said, "Fine, just so I'll not offend you, I'll have another bite, to prove to you that I'm not in the least bit afraid of your germs."___

_She held out her hand, but he held out the spoon with a large dollop of ice cream on the end. Did he mean to feed her? She leaned closer, one arm holding her weight, which caused her breasts to press tighter together. He became extremely aware of her closeness, her cleavage, and the electricity swirling around them. He held out the plastic spoon, certain that his hand was shaking, and she closed her red lips around the end. He pulled it out, and with her mouth closed, she made a sort of humming nose.___

_"Hum, delicious," she said. She looked down at her own body and said, "And look, I'm still alive. Your germs didn't kill me. I have your germs inside me, and I'm happy as can be."___

_"Lucky germs," he muttered.___

_"Pardon?" she asked.___

_"Nothing."___

_He took another bite and before he knew what was happening, she had knocked him on his back, with her chest, (and cleavage) pressed up against his chest, her hair like a canopy around their faces, the ice cream carton knocked over to the side. He didn't know what preceded this outburst on her part, but he really could not care less. ___

_Both of his hands went up to the curve of her back, as her hands propped her body over his, on either side of his head.___

_She said, "A rugby ball almost hit you."___

_"Ah ha," he uttered.___

_"I saved your head from being bashed in, Malfoy," she said, her cheeks blushed.___

_A tall gangly fellow hopped over their bodies, apologized, picked up the ball, and jumped back over their bodies.___

_"We're out of danger now, it would appear," she said. He still held her tight.___

_"Are we?" he asked.___

_"Malfoy, let go of me," she whispered loudly. She suddenly had goose bumps on her arms, during the hottest day of the year. ___

_"Oh, right," he said. Instead, he rolled them over, so she was on her back and he was leaning over her. He looked down at the bridge of her nose, mesmerized with the small brown freckles there that he was not sure he had ever noticed before. He loved freckles, he really did. ___

_"Malfoy?" she asked.___

_"Granger?" he mocked.___

_"You can get off me at any time." She smiled.___

_"That chap with that ball might be back. I'm trying to be chivalrous here, making sure you aren't harmed, the way you were looking after my welfare a moment ago," he said with a slight smirk.___

_"Get off me," she pleaded.___

_He really didn't want to, but he did. He sat up suddenly, and bent his knees. He wrapped his arms around his knees and looked over at the men playing their Muggle game. She started to pick up her things. ___

_"Going somewhere?" he asked, looking at her finally.___

_"Yes, and so are you," she said.___

_"Where am I going?" he asked.___

_"To Harry's house," she answered.___

_"Potter's?" ___

_"Yes, now get off my blanket, and come on, it's so effing hot out here and Harry has a pool. It might be nice to get cooled off, don't you think?" she asked.___

_She stood up, and he eyed her suspiciously. Who was this? He had to ask, "Are you dating anyone right now?" He looked down at his legs.___

_"No."___

_He stood up, and folded up her blanket. "Take me to your leader," he said, holding the blanket over one arm, and holding out the other hand to grasp hers._

Present day -

Draco knocked on Harry's door. It was late for a visit, but this was not really a visit, this was business, so Malfoy didn't care if Potter thought he was rude by coming over or not. Harry answered the door and said, "Where's Hermione?"

"Hello to you too, Potter," Draco said.

"Come in, if you must," Harry said. He looked around after Draco.

"She's not with me," he said.

"Oh, where is she? I didn't think you would come here without her," Harry answered.

"That's the thing, we had a date this evening, and she disappeared from the restaurant," Draco said.

"Finally came to her senses, did she?" Harry asked with a laugh.

"No, she went to the bathroom and disappeared," Draco said, not making a bit of sense.

Harry looked concerned. "Disappeared, how?"

"She went to the restroom, and never came back, pay attention, Potter! I was told she went away with Blaise Zabini, and well, I'm worried," Draco said, his hand in his hair.

"So am I. Come in while I put some shoes on, and I'll be right back down," Harry said. He ran up the stairs, two at a time.

Draco walked in Potter's sitting room. It was a very comfortable house. There was a picture of Hermione on his mantle. Draco went to look at it. It was a Muggle shot. It was one of the other poses from that one Christmas. He remembered each picture very well. He picked it up to admire it as Potter came back in the room. He hurried to put the picture back.

Draco said, "Potter, were you serious when you said you would help Hermione and me find out what Goldstein and Zabini are up to?"

"Of course. Hermione is like a sister to me, and she's far too trusting sometimes, and I hate people abusing that trust," Harry said. He stood before Draco and added, "And if I ever got the impression that you were one of those people, I would cut your heart out and feed it to you slowly."

Draco looked repulsed, as well he should, and said, "Graphic violence doesn't become you, Hero boy. Now, tell me, do you know what Blaise might have on Percy?"

Harry sighed and said, "I had a hunch, so after you and Hermione left the Ministry, I did some digging, and I think I found out what he's hiding."

"What?"

"I won't tell you yet, because I have to be sure first," Harry said.

"Stop being so damn pious," Draco said, "At least tell me how you know Percy's gay."

"How is that pertinent?" Harry asked.

"It's not, I'm just really curious," Draco asked, sitting down on the couch.

"Shouldn't we be off trying to find your girlfriend?" Harry asked.

Unexpectedly, Draco was caught off guard. His girlfriend. Help him, Merlin, he had a girlfriend and her name was Hermione Granger. That sounded weird. He had always wanted a girlfriend named Hermione Granger. He decided to revel in his new relationship in a moment, and take care of the problem at hand. He said, "Blaise is a lot of things, but he wouldn't hurt her. She's safe with him."

Harry laughed and said, "She might be safe with him, but have you ever met Hermione? He might not be safe with her."

Draco stood up and said, "You're right. We should go find them."

Back at Blaise's house, Hermione was waiting for the answer to her question. When none with forthcoming, she asked again, "Please tell me why you don't want me to be happy."

"And I said, please come here." This time, he stood. He took her hand and walked slowly over to the couch. He sat down first, and since he still had her hand, she was forced to sit next to him. "Do you really think Draco Malfoy will make you happy? You two are as compatible as oil and water."

"He's making me happy right now, well, not right now. You're making me sad right now. But, I mean, him being in my life is making me happier than I thought possible," she said, looking suddenly embarrassed. She removed her hand from his and looked down at the floor.

He moved toward her slightly and placed one finger under her chin. He forced her to look at him. He stared at her for many long moments. He said, "I can't believe it. You really love him, don't you?"

"I do, and I have, for a very long time," she answered.

"Hermione, I've known Draco Malfoy since we were both in nappies. He's a selfish, self-centered, egotistical prat, and he doesn't have a generous or gracious bone in his body. He's using you somehow. I know it," he said.

She was becoming tired and angry at his manipulations. She stood up and said, "If that's the truth, prove it to me, little investigator that you claim to be. Give me the proof that his love for me is bogus, that he's out to gain something from our relationship."

He stood as well and said, "Even a blind man knows the sky is blue, Hermione!"

"That's bloody stupid!" she spat. She started to walk away from him, when she turned back and said, "No, I'm not leaving here until you tell me why you care! Why are you trying to ruin my happiness! What have I done to make you hate me so? Even if you hate Draco, why hate me? We didn't part on bad terms! We remained friends, or so I thought! Why are you so intent to ruin my life?"

He grabbed her shoulders and said, "Because, I was a bloody fool! I gave you up and have regretted it every day since! I thought of you all the time, and still do! You think Malfoy's the only one who has pined after you all these years. At least I have the common decency to know that I'm not good for you, so I've stayed away, but he's pursued you for the last few years, and it makes me sick! How can you be so blind about him? He's a bastard and doesn't deserve you."

Hermione almost wanted to laugh if it was not so preposterous. "Blaise, you're a fool!" She turned around in frustration. She wanted to hit him. "If you gave up on me, that's your misfortune. Draco never gave up; he had the fortitude to keep trying, until I finally saw the light. Don't even stand there and act as if you're so noble that you're only doing this because you care for me! You're doing this because the best man won, and that sticks in your crawl! It amounts to two schoolboys playing a game of my stick's bigger than your stick, Malfoy's stick is bigger, and you cannot abide that! How dare you want to ruin my life, Malfoy's life, and even the lives of Percy and who knows whom else, because of JEALOUSY! You, Blaise, are jealous!"

She knew she hit the nail on the head when the man pulled out his wand.

"Oh really, Blaise? Are you going to curse me because I've called you out on your pettiness?" She pulled out her wand as well.

"You two deserve each other, but you know what else, you don't deserve to be Minister, and if I can ruin it for you, for you both, I shall. Show yourself out, Granger, I have a reporter to visit," he said, and he pointed at the door with his wand.

"You, Blaise Zabini, are nothing but a rat!" she said, and before she was aware of her actions, she took her wand and turned him into a rat. She looked down at him, and noticed that he was a very good-looking rat after all, and she picked him up by his tail, and put him in her purse. "Stupid little rodent," she muttered.

What was she going to do now?

Draco and Harry were having a very nice time. Draco could barely believe it. Potter gave him some alcohol, Muggle stuff, not half bad, and they were reminiscing about all the mean things they had done over the years to each other, and having a semi-nice time, too. He had almost forgotten about Hermione.

Draco said, "Come on, Potter, tell me what you know about the Minister."

"I really can't, but I don't think Goldstein is holding the fact that Percy's gay over his head, because I don't think Percy would give up his position for that. While he's a private person, and wouldn't exactly want that known, he's not exactly ashamed of it, so I don't think it's that."

"How long has Ron and Goldstein been an item?" Draco asked.

Harry made a disgusted face and said, "Now that one still has me baffled. Ron has not really told me yet, I only know because of Hermione. I wonder if one thing has to do with the other."

"How so?" Draco asked.

Harry stood up and began to pace. He always thought best when he paced back and forth. He was surprised when his doorbell rang. He looked at Draco and said, "Maybe it's Hermione."

"Maybe it's your boyfriend, coming for a late night booty call," Draco snorted.

"Booty call?" Harry asked, crossing to the door.

"That's the word you picked up on, not the 'boyfriend' part?" Draco asked. "Please, don't tell me you really are gay, too. That would make me almost too happy."

"Why, fancy me, do you?" Harry sneered. He added, "I'm not, so shut up." He opened the door. A frantic Hermione ran in and held out her purse to him. She turned her head and saw Draco.

"Draco, why are you here?" she asked, still trying to have Harry take her purse. He finally did.

"I came here to look for you," he said, still holding his beer bottle.

"Did you think I was at the bottom of that bottle?" she asked, with a small amount of ire.

He put the beer down on the end table. Harry said, "Use the coaster."

"You are gay," Draco said, however, he put the beer on the coaster.

Harry held up Hermione's purse and said, "Why is your purse moving?"

"There's a rat in it," Hermione said plainly.

Harry made a disgusted face and threw, (yes threw) the purse at Draco. He caught it and said, "I don't want a rat," and he threw it toward Hermione. She barely caught it.

"DON'T THROW IT!" she shouted. She put it down on the sofa. She leaned over and looked at the purse as it continued to move. Harry stood on her right, Draco on her left, and they all three looked down at the purse.

Harry said softly, "How did a rat get in your purse?" He poked it with his finger.

"I put it there," she said, swatting at his pointed finger.

"Why?" Draco was the one to ask.

"Because I couldn't very well leave it there," she said. All three continued to look at the purse.

"Leave it where?" Harry asked. He picked the purse up.

"At his apartment," she said.

"The rat has an apartment?" Draco asked.

Hermione took a few steps back from both men. Harry held the purse out from him, suddenly realizing what she meant. Draco, a bit slower on the uptake, said, "Seriously, what kind of rat has his own apartment?"

"A rat named Blaise Zabini," Hermione answered.


	25. Chapter 24

All characters belong to JK Rowling

**Chapter 24 – Draco, Hermione and a Rat makes Three  
**  
Present Day:

"Okay, this is not good," Harry said, trying to hide his laughter.

"I think its bloody brilliant!" Draco said, also laughing.

Hermione looked to her right at a laughing Harry Potter, and then to her left at a laughing Draco Malfoy and she said, "You both make me sick!"

"Said the witch who turned someone into a rat," Draco snickered.

Hermione opened her purse and took out the rat. She held in gently in her hands. She said, "What do I do with it?"

"Give it some cheese?" Draco said.

"Put it in a maze and see how fast it goes?" Harry said.

"Wait, I have one," Draco started, but Hermione interrupted.

"NO! I meant, what do I do about this situation! If I change him back, he will report me to the authorities!"

"I am the authorities, you know, I'm head Auror," Harry said, "and I happen to know that extortion and blackmail are illegal too, and I overheard him trying to blackmail you, so I doubt he'll press charges." Harry looked at the rat closely and the rat began to struggle in Hermione's hands.

"Don't drop it," Harry said.

"Here, hold him for me," Hermione said. Harry put his hands in the air and shook his head no.

"I don't like rats," Harry offered.

"Draco?" She turned to him, holding the rat toward him.

"Fine, give him here, but don't blame me if I drop him and accidentally stomp on him," Draco said. Hermione handed him the rat. The rat promptly bit Draco on the finger. He did indeed drop it, but it landed on the couch. Hermione picked it back up and Draco began shouting a line of expletives.

"I will probably get rabies now!" Draco screeched.

"Blaise doesn't have rabies," Hermione said. She found herself petting the little rat's head.

She sat down, with the rat in her lap, and said, "We could turn him back and modify his memory."

"We really can't do that, that's taking things too far," Harry said, forever the good guy. He sat down next to her as Draco walked off to the bathroom.  


* * *

  
_Flashback:_

Hermione apparated Draco directly to Harry's front door. "Isn't this a Muggle neighborhood?" Draco asked.

"Yes, but Harry has a shield charm up in front of his house, so people can safely apparate and disapparate without notice. I have the same. It's darn helpful when you live in a Muggle area of town."

"Why does he live near Muggles?" Draco asked, looking at the nice neighborhood with its big houses.

"I think it's because he grew up with Muggles and it's comfortable to him. For me, I do because my parents bought my house for me, and they bought it in a Muggle neighborhood," she explained. She rang the bell.

Harry Potter opened the door in only a pair of swimming trunks and a white t-shirt. He frowned slightly when he saw Draco, but he invited them both in the house. "Everyone is around back, come on inside," Harry said.

Draco pulled Hermione's sleeve and said, "Who's everybody?"

"Harry's having a pool party this afternoon. That's why I took the afternoon off from work. It's just a few people from work, and such. Would you rather we go somewhere else?" she asked.

He just realized she said 'we'. Were they a 'we'? When did that happen? He said, "I don't have swimming trunks with me." As soon as he said it, he realized that if everyone was swimming, and this was a 'pool party', then that meant Granger would probably be swimming as well…in a swimsuit.

As his mind wandered to places that it shouldn't, she said, "I'm sure Harry has some extras, and if not, we'll transfigure a pair for you." She walked down a long hallway, toward a back sitting room, out a set of double doors, to a nice back garden, with a stone lined patio, and a large swimming pool. There were many familiar faces, and Draco said hello to a few people.

Hermione said, "The bathhouse is back there, if you want to go change. I'll change upstairs." She walked back in the house. He felt out of place, and rather self-conscious, but Potter walked over, threw him a set of trunks, black, thank goodness, and pointed toward the bathhouse.

Draco came back outside before she did. He took a butterbeer from Ron Weasley when it was offered to him. It was hot, and the cold water of the pool looked inviting, but not nearly as inviting as the vision that appeared before his eyes. Hermione Granger came walking outside, a large, white, man's shirt, over her shoulders, completely unbuttoned. Her feet in the same sandals as earlier, her legs longer than he imagined, brown and toned, and underneath the shirt, she had on a turquoise one-piece bathing suit. 'Why does it have to be a one-piece?' Draco thought with remorse.

She smiled at him and said, "Isn't this a great idea for a hot summer day?"

He merely nodded. He stood so close to her, or she stood so close to him, but whichever it was, they were so close to each other that he could count each eyelash if he so pleased. One of Harry's fellow Aurors ran behind Hermione to jump into the pool, and pushed her toward him accidentally. He put out his hands, one hand on each of her arms, to steady her. Her chest brushed up against his. He looked down, and he felt himself ogling her, before he looked back in her eyes. He didn't know what to say.

"Good thing he didn't push us in the pool," she laughed.

"When did you become so affable?" he asked, quite serious.

Her smile faded and she said, "What do you mean?"

"Shouldn't you be walking around here telling me how much you hate me or something?" he asked.

"Why do you have to ruin a perfectly good day?" she asked, walking away from him.

He wondered that himself. Hermione went to sit on a chaise lounge, and pulled out, what else, a book. Draco waited a few minutes and then walked over to her with a glass of lemonade. "Do you want a drink?" he asked, holding out the glass.

She reached up for the peace offering, but the glass was wet from condensation, and it slipped right from her grasp, and lemonade splashed all over her, and the glass fell right in her lap.

"Is that you way of making sure I get in the pool?" Hermione asked, shaking off the lemonade.

"Sorry, Granger," he said. He picked the glass up off her lap, inadvertently brushing the tips of his fingers on her bare thigh. He saw the goose bumps form on her leg. He looked away embarrassed, and she was thankful, for her cheeks grew red as well.

He handed her a towel that was on the chair next to her. He sat down on the end of her chaise lounge. His knee touched the bare skin of her thigh, and he put his arm out to reach across her legs, to prop it on the other arm on the chair, essentially trapping her.

She threw the towel, wet with lemonade, on the ground. He appeared to be studying her. She felt nervous, and opened her book again. He took the book from her hand, and placed it on the ground. He moved so he was slightly closer. His left hand still in front of her, resting on the arm of the chair. His right arm came up and touched her hair.

"In the bright sun, your hair has gold highlights," he observed, touching her hair lightly. His hand came back down, touched her shoulder, and came to rest on the other arm of the chair. She wrapped her arms around her.

"You certainly have a thing for my hair," she observed, nervously.

"You have no idea," he said seriously. He could hardly tell her that he often imagined what it would feel like to have her on top of him, straddling him during either lovemaking or horseplay, and to have her hair come down and brush against his face or chest. Almost like it did this afternoon in the park.

He was still staring at her, when she said, "Do I have something on my nose?"

"Freckles." He smiled at her. He said, "Aren't you hot in that shirt? Whose shirt is that anyway, Potter's?"

"Yes," she said.

"Take it off, then," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

He answered, "Because you're hot."

"You said I was hot, I didn't," she pointed out to him.

His hand went to the collar of the shirt, and as he felt the material, smooth and crisp, between his thumb and forefinger. He had the urge to take if off her shoulders. He started to act on that urge, when he heard, 'Oi, Malfoy!" It was Harry. "Come on, we need another man to play water polo!"

"What is he saying to me?" Draco asked, looking at Hermione.

"It's a game, not to far removed from Quidditch. He wants you to play," Hermione said. He stood up and so did she.

"Do you mind if I play?" he asked.

"Why would I mind?" she asked back.

He didn't know how to respond to that question, so he turned around and jumped in the pool. Hermione went to the shallow end and removed the white shirt, which she stole from Harry's room, and put it on the cement. She turned to lower herself in the pool, climbing backwards down the ladder. Draco turned from where he was, just in time to see her lower herself in the water. Damn, he missed her getting into the pool.

She sank slowly in the water, gliding back up, her brown hair appearing longer and darker, as she emerged from the water, to stand in the shallow end of the pool. Draco was definitely staring at her. He wanted to get closer, but a ball whirled by his head. "Pay attention, Malfoy!" Ron shouted.

Draco was soon caught up in the game. Hermione went to sit on the steps leading out of the pool. She watched the game for a while, and then decided to get out of the water. She was about to get out when Padma Patil came out of the house.

"Okay, gents, the party's about to begin!" Padma shouted. Her sister followed right behind her, as did several others of their old friends from Hogwarts. Each girl was prettier than the next, with various shades of bikinis.

The men stopped their game, and some climbed out of the pool. Hermione stepped down the steps, to enter the pool again. Draco started to swim over toward her, as Padma Patil came to stand beside the edge.

"Draco Malfoy, what are you doing at a pool party at Harry Potter's house?" she asked. Hermione looked up. The beautiful dark girl had on a purple two-piece swimsuit, which left nothing to the imagination. Draco smiled at her, and climbed the ladder. They were soon in a deep conversation.

Hermione swam another couple of laps, stealing glances occasionally toward Draco and Padma.

Padma kept laughing and she had her hand on his bare arm. Hermione had to admit that Draco looked very nice in a bathing suit. As soon as she thought it, she was ashamed.

She swam back over to the ladder where she left the long sleeve shirt. She climbed out, put the white shirt back on, and turned to see Draco pick up Padma and threaten to throw her in the pool. For some reason, a tinge of jealousy coursed through her like electricity through a cattle prod. She picked up her towel, her book and her sandals, and she walked in the house.

Draco was threatening to throw Padma in the pool. He picked her up and she squealed. He did it merely to make Hermione jealous. He realized that either it didn't work at all, or it worked too well, when he saw her pick up her belongings and walk back in the house.

He placed Padma back on the ground, excused himself, and walked toward the house. He grabbed a towel that was on a chair, wrapped it around his waist, and walked up the stairs.

He didn't know where Granger was. He poked his head in one door, and it was an empty bedroom. The second door was as well. The third, door, was a bathroom. He opened that door, and there she was, completely naked, drying herself with a towel.

Her eyes grew wide, as she put the towel over her. He really didn't see anything, dammit, however, she yelled, he apologized, and he shut the door.

Why didn't she lock the door? He stood outside the bathroom and he didn't know what to do or say. She walked out of the bathroom, dressed back in her blue sundress, and she said, "Why didn't you knock?"

"Why didn't you lock?" he said back to her.

"Well, you have a point, but still," she said, her voice full of vinegar, her body rigid with anger.

"Really, there wasn't much to see," he said. That came out wrong.

She said, "Well, excuse me if I don't have Padma's figure!"

"I meant, I really only saw your face and the towel!" he said, holding his hands up in an 'I surrender' pose. "Really," he continued, "I didn't see you at all today. You came out in that damn shirt, and then you slipped in the pool and out of the pool before I could see anything, that's what I meant!" He didn't know if his ranting was helping or hurting. He would soon find out, he was sure.

"Did you want to see me?" she asked. Her voice was at an alarmingly low decibel.

He said, "Pardon?" He had heard her; he just wanted her to repeat it.

She looked at the floor and said, "Did you want to see me?" She looked up at his eyes.

"Well, of course, I had hoped I would," he admitted.

"WHY?"

"Granger, stop being so imperceptive! You're too smart for that and it's getting old," he said with anger. "You have to know how I feel! You have to know what I think of you!"

Just then, Padma walked up the stairs. She said, "Draco, if you were serious before, about wanting to try my cooking, I would like to cook for you tonight, say about 7:30?" Draco looked at Padma, then to Hermione.

Hermione pushed passed him and said, "Goodbye, Draco, you have fun."

Draco excused himself from Padma and ran down the stairs. He opened the front door and grabbed her arm before she could disapparate. "Why are you being so unpleasant all of the sudden. What have I done?" he asked.

"What have I done?" she asked.

In all seriousness, she really hadn't done anything. He said, "Just, please, you brought me here, it's rude for you to leave me here. At least take me back where you found me."

"You aren't a wayward library book. I don't have to return you. You can get home yourself. I brought you here to have a nice swim, so swim, it's not a big deal," she said.

"Granger, if you walk away from me this time, then I give up on you. I won't pursue you any longer," he said.

"You pursue me?" she asked quietly. He shut the front door. He walked up to her and touched her face. His fingers tingled just at touching her.

"Fuck this Granger. You know how I feel. I've shown you and told you a million times. Just tell me I have a chance. Tell me you feel the same. I think you do sometimes, and other times, I just don't know," he admitted.

"Draco, the truth is you confuse the hell out me," she admitted.

"That's okay, isn't it?" he asked.

Padma opened the front door. She said, "Hermione, Anthony just arrived around back. He's looking for you." She smiled and shut the door.

"I thought you said you weren't dating anyone right now," Draco said.

"We aren't dating, I mean, we are, and I don't know why I didn't tell you that earlier," Hermione said, looking at her shoes.

"Damn, Granger, why?" Draco said. "You know what, I give up. You and Goldstein deserve each other."

"What do you know!" she said.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her body to him. He smashed his mouth down on hers, pressing so hard that her teeth pressed on the inside of her lips, causing pain. He put one hand in her wet hair and the other hand on her back, and held her relentlessly. This wasn't how he always wanted to kiss her, but he might not get another chance.

He moved his mouth slightly, to force his tongue inside hers. She tried to push him away, her hands on his shoulders. He wasn't enjoying this kiss half as much as he always imagined, but of course, he always imagined she would kiss him back.

He finally removed his mouth from hers. She immediately put her hands up to her mouth, and he saw a tear in her eye. He knew he screwed up, and it was hopeless. She looked right in his eye and said, "I hate you Draco Malfoy! I really, really do!" She ran down the porch and disapparated away. She left her book and her bag with the swimsuit on the porch. He picked them up, placed them by the door, went to the bathroom, and changed, and apparated home.

He ruined everything. She would never love him now.  


* * *

  
Present Day:

She walked up to Harry's bathroom and knocked on the door. She opened it before he answered. He was rummaging through the medicine cabinet. "I could have been using the toilet, Granger," he said.

"So, I don't mind seeing your ding dong," she chuckled.

"You did not just call my penis a 'ding dong'," he said back, trying hard not to smile. "I don't mind if you give him a pet name, but not that."

"What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"Looking for a plaster," he said.

"Here, I'll heal it," she answered, taking his hand in one of hers, and getting her wand out of her pocket.

"Are you sure you won't change me into some type of animal? What eats rats?" Draco wondered.

"A cat?" she said.

"Yes, that's it, change me to a cat, just for a moment, let him go, and I will take care of our problem," Draco said as she healed his finger. She held his hand after she healed it and placed a kiss on his finger. She smiled at him and he smiled back. "Do you really love me?" he asked.

"Very much. I've actually loved you for probably as long as you've loved me," she answered.

"I don't believe that," he said. He brought his hand up to her face, and leaned in and kissed her lips.

Harry walked in the bathroom with the rat in his hands. He placed one hand over the rat's eyes. "Excuse me, lovebirds, but the rat and I don't need to see that. Can we change him back now?'

Hermione said, "We might as well. Put him down and I'll do the honours." He put the rat down on the floor of the upstairs hall. Hermione could swear the rat was smirking at her. She took out her wand and said, "Do I have to, Harry? Things will be so much better if we keep him like this. I have a very nice cage at home we could put him in, and I will feed him and put down fresh paper everyday."

"No, you can't keep him as a pet, Hermione. Just do it, okay?" Harry chastised.

With one small flick and swish of her wand, the rat changed back into Blaise Zabini. He stood up and said, "I hope Malfoy's finger gets infected from where I bit him, and it rots and falls off his hand!"

"See, Harry, he was much nicer as a rat," Hermione whined.

Blaise turned to her and said, "And as for you, Hermione! I hope you are resigned not only to lose this election now, but to going to jail! Arrest her Potter!"

"I don't think so, Zabini," Harry said, as he leaned against the upstairs banister.

Blaise said, "I'll go report both of you to the Ministry right now!" Blaise said. He started down the stairs. Hermione looked at Draco, then at Harry. She looked worried. Harry winked at her.

Blaise had opened the front door when Harry said from upstairs, "I know what you and Goldstein have over the Minister." Blaise slammed the door shut. Harry peeked his head over the upstairs banister, joined a second later by Hermione Granger, and a second after that by Draco Malfoy.

"You're bluffing," Blaise said.

"Really? What would make Minister Weasley give up a post that he holds so dear?" Harry walked down the stairs, followed by the other two. Once downstairs, he walked to the living room, and sat down on the couch, as if he hadn't a care in the world. Hermione stayed in the foyer, as did Blaise and Draco. All three looked in the archway that led to the living room, and stared right at Harry.  
Harry continued, "Yes, I know that the Minister doesn't particularly want anyone to know of his sexual persuasion, but he always knew there was a chance it would get out and if it did, he was resigned to that fact. He wouldn't give up the job for that. So, why would he give it up? The only thing more important to Percy is what, Hermione?"

"I don't know," she said, coming in the room to sit by Harry on the couch. "His reputation is pretty important."

"Draco, do you know?" Harry asked with a smile.

Draco walked in the room and said, "Just spill the beans, Potter, and stop with the twenty questions."

Harry crossed his legs on the coffee table, put his hands behind his head, and said, "Well, I bet Blaise knows. What's the answer, Blaise?"

Blaise walked in the room, and said, "His family, Potter, as if you didn't know that."


	26. Chapter 25

All characters belong to JK Rowling

**Chapter 25 – Hermione has a Headache and Draco has the Cure**

Present Day:

Harry Potter felt smug, for he was only acting on a hunch, but Blaise Zabini was feeding right into his hand, so he decided to continue, since things were going his way.

Harry stood up and said, "Why don't you all have a seat, and I will tell you what Blaise is hiding from us."

"Who are you, Potter? A bloody fortune teller?" Blaise asked.

"I rather fancy myself gifted in several areas, Zabini," Harry lauded. He took Hermione's hand, and guided her from the couch to the chair by the door. He motioned for Draco and Blaise to sit on the couch. He stood in front of the fireplace and said, "Hermione, don't you think it's curious that we've known Ron Weasley for almost twenty years, and yet, we had no clue that he was gay. In fact, you dated him for years, had intimate relations with him, and yet, we never had the slightest clue he was gay."

Draco made a face and said, "Please, don't bring up the fact that she's had sex with that man. It's hard enough for me to sit next to Zabini knowing that he deflowered her." Blaise looked smug now, and Hermione looked annoyed.

"Continue Harry, and to answer your question, yes, I think that is rather odd," she said. Harry winked at her.

"Don't you also remember what happened with Percy at the Battle of Hogwarts? Remember how when he finally came to his senses, his biggest regret was the fact that he had let his family down, that he had turned against them? Remember how he promised he would never hurt his family again?"

Hermione stood up and said, "What do you know, Harry?"

Suddenly, Harry forgot that the other two were in the room. He forgot that he was putting on a show, pretending that he already knew what was going on, when he really didn't, so instead, he became excited and began to mull over the facts with Hermione. He took her hand and said, "What if Ron isn't gay? What if Anthony is using him, either under the Imperius, or some sort of potion, and he wanted Percy to really think something was going on with him and Ron."

"But why would the fact that something's going on with Ron and Anthony make Percy want to give up his post?" she said. "He still wouldn't have a reason to do so, and it's not like Anthony could blackmail him into telling people Ron is gay, because even if he threatened Percy with that, Percy wouldn't have to give up his post."

"Hey, you two, other people are in the room," Draco waved from the couch.

Hermione and Harry both turned to the couch and said, "HUSH!" at the same time.

"No manners at all," Draco said, pointing to the pair, but looking at Blaise.

"Tell me about it," Blaise said, seemingly suddenly bored.

"Okay, think about this one, what if Anthony and Percy had a long standing relationship, and then Percy found out that his brother was also seeing Anthony. He wouldn't want to hurt Ron, would he? He would want to end it with Anthony, but maybe Anthony made it clear that he would tell Ron about their relationship, if he didn't step down."

"Still, Potter, not making sense!" Hermione said, now infuriated. "So, what? Anthony has the goods on Percy, threatens to go to his 'lover' Ron, and say what, 'I'm cheating on you with your brother?' If Anthony and Ron are in a relationship, why would Anthony want to hurt someone he cares about?" Hermione said.

Draco raised his hand and cleared his throat. "I can answer that one, if you two will let a third party into your conversation. You yourself said that Anthony always disliked Ron, so he maybe using Ron as a pawn, so to speak. He's using Ron, in a fake relationship, to make Percy think it is real, so Percy must give up his post or else face giving up his brother. It makes perfect sense to me."

Hermione looked more confused than ever. Harry smiled, thinking they had it figured out, while Blaise laughed and said, "You're all a bunch of idiots, and I will be leaving now to have Hermione arrested, Draco discredited, Harry fired, and Percy brought out of office. See you all later." He started to walk out of the room, when Hermione turned him into a rat again.

"Really, again?" Harry asked, looking at her irritated.

"Well, if I'm going to be arrested, he might as well be turned back into a rat," she said. Draco put his foot on the rat's tail.

"I refuse to pick him up and be bitten again," Draco said. Hermione walked over, picked him up and put him back in her purse.

Harry said, "I really thought we were onto something," and he sat down, defeated.

"I thought you knew what you were talking about, I didn't think it was just conjecture," Hermione accused.

Draco said, "I think you were onto something, but Blaise couldn't give away his hand. He knew you were just hypothesizing the way you acted like a little girl who received her first hickey over there with Granger, all excited, hopping up and down. He knew in that instant that you weren't sure, so he decided to play it cool, and leave while he could."

"There's one way to find out for sure," Harry said. "I need to get to Ron. There's a test to perform to see if someone is under the Imperius. Next, I need to get Percy to confide in me. You two stay put, right here. I might be gone most of the night. Put the rat somewhere safe, and we'll figure out what we're to do with him later." Harry ran upstairs for a moment, and came back. He kissed Hermione on the cheek and promptly left.

Hermione held her purse away from her. It was moving, and the rat inside was squealing. "We can't really keep him a rat, can we?" she asked.

"I don't see that we have a choice," Draco said. He took the purse from her and held it up to his mouth. "Now stop moving all around, Blaise, or I might accidentally drop you down the drain or the toilet or something." Draco began to swing the purse back and forth.

"Draco, stop that," Hermione laughed. She took the purse from him and opened it up. She took the rat out of the purse. "Poor little thing looks half-seasick."  
She looked around, found a teacup, and transfigured it into a cage. She put a pillow in the bottom, and laid the rat inside. "There, that should keep him safe for a while." She looked down at the little rat and said, "You know, Blaise, I really did care for you once, and I thought you cared for me."

"Words of love to a rat? Where are the photographers when I need them?" Draco asked.

"Remember, we're fighting fair now, same side and all," she reminded.

"Oh, yeah," Draco said, disappointed.  


* * *

  
_Flashback:_

"Draco Malfoy is a first class rat fink!" Hermione said to Harry as she walked into her office. She rubbed her temples, because she had a terrible headache.

"What pray tell, has he done now?" Harry quizzed,, taking a bite of his sandwich, as he stood up from her desk to let her sit down.

"He's fighting the new trade law, just like he did three years ago," she said, as she put her head on her desk. "I've worked on this law for months now, trying to make sure it's fair to everyone, and he comes in and tries to muck it all up, and he has enough members of the Wizengamot in his pocket to stop the vote, damn him. I know he's just doing this to bother me."

Harry took another bite, rubbed her back, and said, "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that this law will cost his company millions of galleons a year. It's all just to get back at you."

"Exactly," she said.

Harry sat on top of her desk and said, "What is with you guys? Last summer you seemed almost like you liked each other, and now, he's your adversary again. It doesn't make sense; of course, nothing about your personal life makes sense."

"Coming from the man who says he'll never marry," Hermione laughed sarcastically.

"Maybe you and I should just marry," Harry said.

"Yuck, sick," she said.

"Thanks for at least stroking my ego for a millisecond," Harry said. "Now, tell me, what is with you and Malfoy? Anyone can see that he's liked you for ages, and I suspect the reason you won't commit to anyone, and indeed, keep going back to Anthony, the prat, Goldstein, when you know it will never work, is because you like Malfoy as well."

Hermione stood up and pointed toward her office door and said, "Leave my office, Harry Potter, and bite your tongue! I cannot stand that man, and he certainly doesn't like me!"

She sat back down and Harry said, "Really, Hermione? You really don't think he likes you?"

She was quiet for a while, and then softly said, "Even if that was true at one time, he doesn't anymore. It's too late." She put her head on the desk. "I have a really bad headache."

"Shut your eyes, and rest. I'll go get a headache potion for you, okay?" He leaned down and kissed her forehead, as she shut her eyes. She brought her arms up to cradle her head. Draco Malfoy had given her a headache. Yes, she would even blame him for that.

She had not seen him since August at Harry's pool party. It was now November. She had no idea what was going on with the two of them. Sometimes she thought he liked her, and other times she thought he was just playing games with her, infuriating her for fun, but then there was that kiss at Harry's house that past summer. What was that about? It was bordering on brutal. It was not how she imagined him kissing her, not that she had ever imagined it or anything.

Still, for the past five years, ever since she graduated from college, he had been telling her off and on that he loved her. No, wait a minute; didn't it even start before then? During school? Hermione couldn't remember. She didn't want to remember. He confused her so much. They had shared so many nice moments together over the past few years, and just as many awful ones.

Now there was this stupid article in the paper about him. If she were honest, it was the article, and not the fact that he was trying to overturn a law, which made her upset.

The article said he was engaged to be married. There was even a picture of him and the stupid bint, whoever the hell she was. They looked so pretty together. It made Hermione want to hurl. Her head was pounding now. What was worse, she was expected to go to her parents' house tonight, and she was supposed to take Anthony, but she didn't want to do either. She and Anthony had decided a while ago to just remain friends. Anthony said that other people didn't have to know that. Anthony thought that they should 'appear' to remain dating, and Hermione couldn't see the harm, so she agreed.

She was just tired of pretending. She wanted someone who would really love her, and only her. Someone who wanted to spend time with her, treat her well, kiss her lips gently, and tell her she was pretty. Someone who did nice things for her, and who bought her nice presents, and told her they loved her. Oh, heaven help her, she wanted Draco Malfoy. He was all of those things, he had done all those things, but she let him go, and by golly, she couldn't do anything about it now.

That didn't mean she loved him, or anything. No, she definitely did not love him. He was an insufferable arse-hole and she did not love him at all!

Her head hurt enough that she wanted to cry. The headache made her tears start to fall, not any other reason, and certainly not the fact that she had lost her chance with Draco Malfoy.

She heard her door open. She kept her eyes closed. She didn't want Harry to see her crying, because he would think it was because of Malfoy, and not the headache. She said, "Just put the headache potion on my desk, Harry. I'll take it later. I can't even see straight, my head hurts so badly." She sniffled and continued to cry. "And before you say anything, I'm only crying because my head hurts so very badly."

She felt a hand gently go to her head, and begin to stroke her hair. She cried harder. The hand withdrew and she said, "No, Harry that felt good, continue. I lied before. I'm not only crying about my head. I'm crying because no one loves me, but also because my head hurts."

She heard a chuckle. She said, "It's really not funny, Harry. Maybe you're right; maybe you and I should say 'damn the torpedoes' and just get married to each other. Screw the rest of them, right? You know better than anyone that Anthony and I will never marry."

The hand stroked her hair again. The person stood behind her chair, and placed the other hand on her shoulder. She said, "Did you see in the paper where Draco Malfoy is getting married?"

"Hmm," he answered. His hand temporarily stroked her cheek, as her head lay sideways on her arms. He brushed her tears away with the tips of his fingers, and then both hands went down her shoulders and up again.

"Well, good for him for finding someone he loves. See, you were wrong, he doesn't care for me," she said, stifling a whimper. Her tears hitched in her throat, as her body began to rack harder with tears. "I mean, I might have thought he cared for me at once, and I might have thought that I cared for him, but we were both wrong, apparently."

The person behind her began to massage her neck and shoulders. She left her head on her arms, on her desk, and tried to control her crying. One of his hands moved her hair slightly off her face, as it lay on her arm. He put her hair behind her ear, as she said, "At least you love me, don't you?" He leaned down and kissed her cheek lightly, and then her neck. His right hand stayed on her shoulder, as his left hand went under her hair, and stayed on the back of her neck.

"Yes," he whispered in response. He put a hand on her forehead, stroked her hair, and then placed both hands back on her back. He rubbed her shoulders again, and she began to relax. Her crying stopped. She felt lethargic and sleepy all of the sudden.

She said, "I could go to sleep, that feels so good. It's even helped my headache."

He leaned down once more, and kissed her cheek again. He whispered softly in her ear, "Go to sleep, it will be alright."

"No it won't because you are right, I might have really have had a relationship with Draco, if I hadn't been so stupid. It's too late now." She began to cry anew. She started to raise her head from the desk, but he put his hand on her head softly, stroking it again, keeping her from sitting upright. He put his hand softly over her eyes.

He leaned down again and whispered, "Close your eyes." He moved to the side of her now, and leaned down once more and kissed the top of her head. His hand moved in circles on her back.

She kept her eyes shut, and soon, the gentle stroking of her hair, and the occasional rubbing of her neck, shoulders and back, lulled her off to sleep.

She awoke a short moment later to the sound of Harry coming in the office, with a vial of headache potion in one hand, and a glass of water in the other. She looked up from the desk, and was confused. He said, "Sorry it took me so long, but I was talking to Percy. Here's the headache potion."

She sat up completely now and said, "Weren't you just here?"

"No, I've been gone for about twenty minutes. I just got back," he said, handing her the vial.

She looked around her office, bewildered and puzzled. On her desk was a note that said, "Don't worry, it's not too late."

What happened here? Was it all a dream? What wasn't too late?  


* * *

  
Present day:

Draco was sitting outside by Harry's pool, and Hermione came outside, with a cup of tea. "Do you want a cup?" she asked.

"No, thank you. Potter not back yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," she confirmed.

"Where's the rat?" he asked, smiling.

"I gave him some water, and he appears to be sleeping." She started to sit in the chair beside him, but he patted his lap. She smiled and climbed on his lap. He put his arms tight around her. She said, "I have a slight headache."

"I'm sorry, I am sure you do. It's been quite a day," he said. He took the cup from her and as she rested her head on his shoulder, he began to stroke her head. "Does that help?"

"Yes, it does," she said. She realized that this wasn't the first time he had done this to her. Without opening her eyes, for fear of what she might see, she said, "What made you wait for me for so long?"

"I loved you," he answered plainly. "What made you wait so long to tell me that you loved me? I suspect you knew that you did for a long time, I mean; you more or less told me that you suspected you did as well. Why didn't you just come out and say it sooner?"

She felt like crying. She threw both arms around his shoulders, kissed his neck, and said, "It's my fault that we wasted so much time, isn't it?"

She looked up at him, and he was smiling. He nodded his head and said, "Yes, yes it is. It's your fault entirely." His smile relayed the fact that he was lightly teasing her, yet there was truth in his words.

"I tried to ask you this earlier," she said, "but you never really answered. Do you want me to concede my nomination?"

"No, I want to win or not win on my own merit. I think if you win, I would make an awesome Undersecretary, don't you?" He kissed her cheek, and trailed a row of kisses over to her neck and back again. He put his hand on one breast, over her dress, and stroked it back and forth, until he felt her nipple become erect.

He said, "Did you know that day, so long ago, at Potter's little pool party, I kept waiting to get a good look of you, and I wanted to make love to you right there in that pool. Damn all those other people for being there."

"Too bad the pool is covered and it's too cold for swimming," she said.

"I notice he has a hot tub," Draco said, cocking his head toward the hot tub.

Hermione looked in the direction Draco motioned, and frowned. "When did he get that, the randy little bugger?"

"Shall we try it out, you and I?" Draco asked.

"We don't have swimsuits," she laughed.

"Now, Granger, we are a bit past the swimsuit stage of our relationship," he scolded.

"This is a Muggle neighbourhood, and I know he has a pretty high fence, but still I don't know what types of charms and wards he has around his yard." Hermione looked around. "What if someone would see us?"

"So, some Muggle neighbour of Potter's sees us in the hot tub, making love? Do we care? Come on, I practically raped you in a Muggle restaurant, and you didn't complain, unless all those little moans and groans were your way of telling me to stop."

She hit his chest. She said, "If something bad comes from this, I will hold you personally responsible."

"You always do, and by something bad, do you mean like a rash or something?" he said, amused.

"I mean if anyone finds out or anything." She rolled her eyes and said, "A rash, indeed."

"Is that a yes?" he asked, all happy all of the sudden.

"Go get naked, and I'll meet you out here, after I get some towels," she said.

Draco jumped up, pushing her off his lap. He said, "Happy, happy, joy, joy!"

Hermione laughed and said, "Okay, don't get all insane on me." She went up to get some towels. Draco went in the house to undress.

In addition, a photographer far away adjusted his zoom lens.


	27. Chapter 26

All characters belong to JK Rowling

**Chapter 26 – Hermione and Draco and a Hot Tub  
**  
Present Day:

Hermione came outside wrapped in a large white towel. Draco had already removed the top of the hot tub, figured out how to turn it on, figured out the right temperature, and was walking around in just his slacks, which he was about to remove when she came outside. She seemed to be blushing, although it was dark outside, he could make out a slight blush to her skin in the moonlight.

"Hurry up, let's get in, it's cold," she said, shivering.

"It's not that cold," he said. He smiled at her, and added, "Are you nervous or something?"

"No," she said adamantly. She held her arms around her, and looked over her shoulder for a moment. "Although, I feel like someone is watching me."

"You ARE nervous," he said, with a laugh. "Haven't you ever had sex in public?"

"Before I met you, I would have said no, but I can't really say that any longer," she chided, "Although this is my first foray in a hot tub."

He came up to her and stroked her arms up and down with his hands. He said, "Give me one of those towel, and I'll be right out to join you."

He was gone only a moment, and when he came out, she was sitting on the side of the tub, feet dangling in the water, arms still tight around her body.

"Ready, Granger?" he asked, about to remove his towel.

"WAIT!" she shouted, her hands raised toward him to stop him. "What if Harry comes home?"

"He can join if he wants to," Draco said, shaking his head. He removed his towel and she shut her eyes. He lowered himself in the water and said, "Open your bloody eyeballs. You'll put my member in your mouth but you won't look at it?"

Even she had to laugh at the audacity, but yet truthfulness, of that statement, so she opened her eyes. "Well, first, don't be crass, and I suppose if I tell you to close your eyes while I get in the tub, you won't do it."

"Either come in here now, or I'll drown you," he said as way of an answer.

She removed the towel and ducked in the pool so fast, he felt like he was reliving the pool party all over again. "I didn't get to see anything," he whined.

"You've seen it all before," she said, scooting closer to him. Soon, she was sitting right beside him. She looked over at the control panel and said, "What does this do?" and she turned a lever. The jets started going in every direction rapidly, and the water began to bubble around them.

"Well, that feels nice," he said. He slipped his arm around her waist, and pulled her toward him.

"Yes, it does," she agreed. He cuddled her in front of him, his touch on her body smooth and gentle in the water. She slid down further in the water, melting into his touch. His mouth went to the inside of her wrist, to her elbow, to her shoulder, and across her collarbone to her neck. He found her mouth and kissed her as if he had just found a long lost love. Shivers went through her body.

She pulled on his neck, and pulled him closer to her. As she shared one of the best kisses she had ever had with him, her hand went down between his legs, and she softly caressed his throbbing, erect member. Her hands were so gentle, and in the water, they moved smoothly over him. She reached under him and cupped him, causing a groan to escape his lips. He knew if she kept that up, he would not last long. He moved his mouth from hers and said, "Slow down, Granger."

He began to massage her hands and arms. The combination of the rolling, hot water, and his touch, was melting her resolve. She closed her eyes for a moment. He bent his head and attached his mouth to one of her breasts, lifting her slightly so that her upper half was raised out of the water. His palm went down to rest between her legs, and she arched backwards, her head going back in the water, her hair completely wet. He put his hand on her back, pulled her back up, and moved her around so that she was facing the same direction as he. Her head lolled to the side, from relaxation and his touch combined.

His hands went to both breasts, as she sat with her back to his chest. Her back arched against him, bringing her bum dangerously close to his ache. He smiled wickedly and said, "Careful, Granger."

His hands continued to roam and she shut her eyes, and tightened her thighs. His mouth went to the junction between her neck and shoulder, and he sucked gently. He parted his legs and glided her between them, his right hand traveling down her side, to her hip, to her leg. He lifted one of her legs and draped it over one of his. His left hand went from her breast to her core, and she pushed herself into his hand, the water frothing around them. Her breathing became erratic as he entered her with two fingers. "Oh," she managed to say.

"Nice, isn't it?" he said, as she began to climax.

"Have…to…get…a…hot tub," she managed to say. Her climax sent waves through her body. He put his hands on her hips, and eased her down on top of him, her back still against his chest. She was so wet from the water, and from want, that he slid into her easily. She rested her head against his shoulder, before he began to move her, easing her up and down in the water, as if she weighed nothing, so that she fully enveloped him.

His head fell back, also, and he joined her in one of the quickest climaxes he had ever experienced. She managed to stifle her scream. He threw his head forward and back again, his face contorted in pleasure and pain, as he shuddered underneath her, just a moment after she came. After they both relaxed from their mutual high, she tried to turn around, but her muscles were so relaxed from the combination of having mind-blowing sex, and the hot water, that she could not move. She fell backwards against his chest, and he caught her and pulled her to his side.

"I agree we must get a hot tub," he finally said.

* * *

_Flashback_

Harry walked into Hermione's bathroom with his eyes shut and with his hand in front of his face for good measure. "Hermione, I got the oatmeal stuff, and some antihistamines." Hermione was in her bathtub, in lukewarm water, trying to relax. She was uncomfortable, and in a lot of pain and distress, because she had hives, everywhere.

"Leave them on the sink, Harry," she said.

He did as requested, pulled the bathroom door partially shut, and sat down outside the door. "I hope the oatmeal flakes help the itch," he said.

"I do too, if not, I might have to go to St. Mungo's," she said.

"What caused the hives?" he asked.

"I have no idea," she said. She put the oatmeal powder in her mostly tepid water, and sat back down. "By the way, did you see the paper today?" she asked him from the tub.

He smiled to himself, as he sat in her hallway. He had seen it, but he said, "No, why?"

"Draco Malfoy isn't getting married after all, apparently it was an erroneous report," she informed him.

"Imagine that, the papers lie," he said sarcastically. "They've been lying about me since I was eleven years old, so you won't colour me surprised."

"Yes, well, I guess that woman was just someone he had taken out to dinner a few times, and he had a press conference today to let everyone know that he definitely was not now, nor has he ever been, engaged," she explained. He thought she seemed pleased.

"Speaking of Malfoy," Harry said, his back propped against the wall in the hallway, his legs folded under his body, "I saw him just now at the store, while I was getting your oatmeal stuff."

There was complete silence from the bathroom.

"Hermione, did you drown?" he asked.

"You just saw Malfoy?" she managed to ask.

"Yes, and I told him you had hives," he told her and then he laughed.

"Harry Potter, you did not!" she said.

"Yes, I did. I told him I was at the store to buy you some bath salts for your hives, and some antihistamines for the itch, and he told me to tell you that he hopes your itching goes away." He laughed harder.

"I hate you, Harry Potter," she said. She threw her wet sponge at the door, but it did no damage. He reached his hand in the door, took the sponge, and threw it back in the bathroom.

"Isn't that your line to him?" he asked.

"Well, I hate you both," she said.

"Which translates to the fact that you love us both," Harry said, with a sense of satisfaction. He stood up and said, "If you don't need anything else, I think I'll be going."

"By all means, leave you oldest and dearest friend in her hour of need," she whined.

"Shall I come scratch you?" he asked.

"LEAVE!" she shouted.

He put his hand on the door and said, "I'm poking my head in, so duck down." She did, and hid partially behind the shower curtain, with only her head poking out. He looked in and said, "What is it that Malfoy always says to you when you tell him that you hate him?"

Draco stood in the hallway behind Harry and said, "I believe I say, 'I know you do, but I love you,' or something like that."

Hermione's eyes became as big as saucers; Harry gave her an evil smile and a wink and said, "Well, I'll be off, now." He shut her bathroom door, but not tightly, and looked at Draco. "She will kill me tomorrow, I'm sure."

"In case she does, I'll just tell you goodbye now," Draco said. Harry dashed off and left Draco standing outside her bathroom door. When he heard no sounds of life from within, he finally asked, "Have you drowned in there?"

She wondered how long he had been there. Had he heard her talk about his pseudo engagement? Had he heard her say that she hated both him and Harry? She looked down, and realized with horror that not only was she naked, but she was also covered in hives. Maybe she should drown.

He knocked on the door. "Granger?" he said again. When he still heard no sound, not even the sounds of her movement in the water, he said, "Did you apparate away?" He was slightly worried.

"If I did, I couldn't answer that question," she said. "And where would I have my wand? Please, leave." She wanted to add, 'and leave me with my dignity', yet she never felt dignified around him at any time, so that would be a disputable point.

"I just came back here with Potter to check on you. I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said. He put his hands on the door, and moved it slightly. The steam from within started to escape.

"I am, so goodbye," she said, dismissing him.

"Do you need anything before I go?" he asked. When no answer came he said, "I've never known you to be this quiet."

"Well, I don't usually have you outside my bathroom door, with me completely naked inside," she said plainly.

"Too, true," he agreed. "So, you saw the article in the paper, I gather."

He heard that, did he? She meekly said, "Yes."

"So you know it was bogus, I'm not engaged."

"Yes."

"Just wanted to clear that up." He was quick to add, "With everyone that is."

"Okay."

"Well, don't drown in there," he reiterated. "I should leave." He shut the bathroom door. He didn't want to leave, but he came and said what he wanted to say. He really did want to make sure that she was okay, but mostly he wanted to find out if she had seen the article. He didn't want to push things. He wanted her to be receptive toward him, the next time they met.

He started to her front door, when she padded from the bathroom to the living room, in a terrycloth robe. She said, "Thanks for coming." He turned around, shocked. He didn't know she was out of the tub. As soon as she said it, she knew it sounded stupid. 'Thanks for coming'? Did she seriously say that?

He walked up to her and said, "Anytime." He reached out and took her hand. He wanted to bring her to him, and kiss her the right way, the way a first kiss between them should have went, but instead, he brought her fingers up to his lips, kissed the tips, and brought them back down, but kept a hold of her hand. He was extremely aware that she was naked under her robe.

She sighed and shivered. She decided that maybe she didn't hate him so much. He put both hands on her arms, and rubbed them slightly up and down her arms on the outside of her robe. "Are you cold?" he asked. The shiver wasn't from the cold. It was from something else, she feared. She merely shook her head no. "I'll see you soon, Granger," he smiled. His hands went from her arms back to down to hold both hands.

"When will you see me again?" she asked, hopefully.

"I'll see you next week at the new vote for the trade law. I'll be in the assembly that day," he said, "and I'll console you when the law is overturned. Perhaps I'll take you to a victory lunch."

She removed her hands from his. Maybe she did still hate him. She pushed on his chest, but he barely moved. He looked down at her amused, and he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to push you out of my house!" she said.

"Okay, I'll leave," he said. He took a hold of both her wrists, and held them tight. He said, "That was a low blow, I shouldn't have mentioned the fact that your little law is soon to be overturned, especially right now with you all red and splotchy." He laughed. He couldn't help teasing her sometimes, because he thought she was adorable when she was riled up, and ready to pounce.

However, she disappointed him this time. She wrenched her wrists from his hold, and went over to her couch. She curled into a ball on the end and said, "Just leave me alone in my misery."

He walked over to the couch, and sat down. He said, "Why do you care about this law, Granger?" He put his hand on her hip, over her robe, as she lay on her side, legs up to her chest.

She sat up, so he removed his hand. "Because, it only affects those who can most afford it, like you, and the taxes raised will help so many people, Malfoy," she pleaded.

"Let them get jobs and help themselves," he said.

"Like you got all your money from working hard," she said softly. "I'm itchy again, I need to take some of those pills Harry got me, and go to bed. Show yourself out, Malfoy." She stood up and walked back to her bathroom. She took two of the little pink pills, and went to lie down in her bed. She threw the robe off, and slipped under her covers, not even bothering with a nightgown, because she knew the material would make the hives worse.

He walked softly to her front door, and left. He stood out on her front porch for a moment, regretting that he had upset her, once again. He decided he would make it up to her. He didn't really care that much about the bloody law. She was right. He had plenty of money. If it was that important to her, he would give in, after all, he was used to making concessions for her. He just wished that occasionally he would be recognized for it.

* * *

Present day:

Sitting around Harry's kitchen table the next morning, eating breakfast, was Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, and on top of the table, eating toast, which Hermione had cut into small pieces, was a rat named Blaise Zabini. Harry came running in his front door, with a newspaper in his hand. He ran into the kitchen, threw the newspaper right on top of the rat, and said, "What the hell did you two do last night!"

Hermione picked the paper up off Blaise and looked at the front page. She gasped, screamed, stopped breathing, and then ran from the room, throwing the paper back on the table. Draco picked it up, and saw a moving picture of him and Hermione, clearly doing something inappropriate in Harry's hot tub, with the caption, **"Former enemies, more than friends, deceiving us all."**

Harry said, "What did you do in my hot tub?"

Draco snarled, "I'm sure it's nothing you haven't done before." Draco ran up the stairs, and went to the locked bathroom door. He tried the handle, and then said, "Hermione, let me in please."

Harry came running up behind him, with Blaise in one hand, and the newspaper in the other. Blaise bit Harry's finger, and Harry dropped him. The little rat ran under the bathroom door. "Granger!" Draco shouted again, and he banged on the door. "Let me in, please!"

She yelled from inside, "I told you it was a bad idea! Why did we do that?" She was crying, and Harry looked accusingly at Draco and hit him upside the head with the paper.

"Watch it, Scarboy," Draco seethed.

Harry went to the door, and said, "Hermione, let me in, please."

"Both of you go away, I need to be alone," she said.

Harry sat down outside the bathroom door. Draco sat across from him and said, "No one reads this rag anyway."

"Don't you think the other papers will pick up this article?" Harry asked. He apparated downstairs to get something to eat. He came right back up with a piece of toast in his hand. He sat back down and started to eat the toast.

"That was the rat's toast," Draco laughed. Harry spit it out on the floor. Draco said, "This picture is so grainy, and it was apparently taken from such a far distance, that only our mothers and our hairdressers would know it is us, anyway."

"Yes, because no one else would recognize your blonde hair and her curls," Harry said irritated.

In the bathroom, Hermione sat on the floor, rocking back and forth, holding the little rat in her hands, stroking his fur, and she cried. She held the rat up to her face, nose to nose, and said, "Well, Blaise, I better turn you back now. I'm going to lose the election, probably lose my job, my respect and reputation are over, and so what's the big deal about going to prison?" She set him on the floor, and turned him back to a person. She curled up in a ball on the bathmat, and continued to cry. He stretched, but then sat down beside her and pulled her into his embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," he said sincerely. "Do you want to know why I thought Malfoy was using you?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it was at Anthony's suggestion that Malfoy run for office, at least that's what Goldstein told me," Blaise answered.

"Anthony?" she asked.

"Yes, and do you want to know who's behind that article and picture that's in that rag paper?" he asked, stroking her hair.

"Who?"

"Anthony Goldstein. He's been behind the scenes, manipulating everything since the beginning," he told her.

"Why would Anthony do this to me? He wants me to win," she said, although she thought Blaise might be telling the truth.

He pushed her away from him and said, "Hermione, please, use that great mind for a moment, and think about this. He doesn't want you to win. He wants you to lose. He always has."

"How do you know this?" she asked.

He laughed and said, "That's what I do, I dig up dirt on people. Anthony Goldstein is the one that made sure Draco Malfoy would run against you. He's the one that told Malfoy about your donation to St. Mungo's. He made sure that reporter found you in the theatre box; he made sure you would find Ron and him in the hotel room. Potter's theory was all wrong, because Percy Weasley is sick, very sick. I lied when I said that he wasn't. He has to step down, and Anthony wanted to be named his successor, however, Percy wouldn't do that."

"Percy is really sick?" she asked meekly.

"Very sick, but that's the thing, I think Anthony is behind that, too, and I have been working on proving that." He stood up and brought her up with him. He leaned against the vanity, and pulled her into his arms. He held her and stroked her hair. "Goldstein owns that paper that took that picture. I bet you didn't know that, did you?"

She pushed away from him, shocked.

"Here's another thing, he owns a lot of companies, a lot of dirty little companies, which are not respectable, by any means, but which have severely suffered because of the trade taxation you had passed into law last year."

"Are you sure?" she asked. She moved to sit on the side of the tub.

"Very, I even have proof. What's more, when Percy wouldn't name him successor, he convinced Percy to name you. He didn't have to blackmail Percy, because in hindsight, it was a sound decision. Percy knew you would carry on with his work, to keep corruption out of the Ministry. However, Anthony was under the delusion that he could manipulate you. When he saw that he couldn't, he used his connections, unbeknownst to Malfoy, to convince Malfoy to run."

"He thought that Malfoy would want the law overturned as well, so he's been working behind the scenes to discredit you, and get Malfoy elected. He didn't count on the fact that Malfoy really only ran to get you to finally realize you loved him."

"No, Draco really wants to be Minister," Hermione argued.

"Maybe now, but not at first," Blaise said. "See, none of this is turning out right, so now, he wants to get rid of both of you. That's where I come in, for I was to convince you to concede, one way or another, and once you conceded, he was going to discredit Malfoy, and then he was going to come in and run as a ringer. The poor ex-boyfriend, who was honest to the people, 'look everyone, I came out of the closet to protect my ex-girlfriend'. He hoped by that time, Percy would be too ill to protest, you would be too much in love with Malfoy to care, and Malfoy would be in over his head. He figured he had an easy victory."

Draco and Harry, by this time, had heard their entire exchange. Harry opened the door with his wand and said, "Why are you helping us, Blaise?"

"Because that bastard went too far, with the pictures. I don't want to hurt Hermione, even if she did turn me into a rat, twice," he said. He took her hand.

Hermione said, "I find all of this about Anthony hard to believe."

"Well," Draco stated, "you aren't exactly the Anthony Goldstein connoisseur you thought you were, because you didn't even know the bastard was gay."

Blaise laughed and threw his head back. "He's not gay, and neither is Ron Weasley, on that part, Potter was right."

"Yes, I found that out last night, when I went to see Ron," Harry said. "He's the one being blackmailed by Goldstein, and he was used to hurt Hermione, and he's so sorry, Hermione, he really is, but he won't tell me what Goldstein has over him."

"Not the Sherlock Holmes you thought you were, huh, Potter," Blaise said. "Of course, I know what he has on Weasley, I know everything."

"Zabini, are you going to tell us what you know, or what?" Draco asked, as all four of them stood in the small bathroom.

"As always, Malfoy, it comes at a cost," Blaise said.

Hermione said, "Draco, give him some money!"

"NO, I'm not giving that bastard one red cent!" Draco said.

She turned to Harry and said, "Harry, give him some money!"

"I don't keep money on me, will you take a cheque?" Harry asked.

Hermione looked exasperated and huffed in anger and said, "Blaise, I don't have any money, but tell me what you want, and I'll try to give it to you."

"Oh, Hermione, you're so naïve, but you're not in the position to give me what I want." Blaise pushed away from the vanity and touched her face. He said, "You know what, I owe you this one, so for you, it's for free, but can we go downstairs, I feel claustrophobic in this bathroom with all of you huddled around me." Harry and Draco walked out of the bathroom first, and started downstairs. However, Blaise Zabini grabbed Hermione's arm and apparated them both away, before Harry or Draco knew what happened.


	28. Chapter 27

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 27 – **

_Flashback:___

_It was after 9 pm, and Draco knew it was late, but he didn't want to leave things badly with Granger, and also, he really wanted to let her know that he was no longer going to try to block the vote for the new law. If the trade law was that important to her, she could have it, but for once, dammit, he wanted her to know he was doing something nice, and it was all for her. He was tired of wasting time, dancing this slow dance with her. It was time to deal with the problem directly, and go down swinging. He could think of many clichés that would work in this situation, but the only thing that really mattered was that she knew, once and for all, that it was all for her.___

_He went back to her front door, and rang the bell.___

_Hermione climbed out of bed, hives worse than before she went to sleep. The troubling thing was she didn't even know what caused them in the first place. She had never had an allergic reaction before, so why start now? Someone was at her door, and so she climbed from bed to answer. She was too itchy to put her terrycloth robe on, so she pulled her sheet from the bed, wrapped it around her body, and under her arms, and though it dragged on the ground, she scampered off to answer the door.___

_There was Draco Malfoy. What did he want?___

_Draco took one look at her and thought, 'Is she naked under there?', and then he thought, 'her hives look worse than ever'.___

_"What do you want, Malfoy?" she asked annoyed. She moved from one foot to the other, back and forth, fidgeting, her hand to her neck, as she started to scratch not only her neck, but also her shoulder and then her other arm.___

_"I wanted to talk about the vote again," he said. He was distracted by her hives. She was almost completely red. She looked like a ripe raspberry.___

_"I can't talk right now," she moaned. No, she whined. She moved back and forth again and then screamed, "Oh, help me; I can't stand this any longer!" She walked to her kitchen, poured some water, and took two more antihistamine pills, which were on her kitchen counter. ___

_"How many of those have you taken since I left three hours ago?" he asked, as he followed her to her kitchen.___

_"I took two right after you left, I fell asleep, woke up about an hour later, took two more, and now, two more, but the damn things don't help the itch, I am going crazy!" She hopped up and down; scratching everywhere that she could, while still holding up the sheet.___

_He picked up the package and read on the back: 'Take one to two tablets every four to six hours, not to exceed six doses in a 24-hour period.' "Granger, you've taken too many of the damn things!" he practically shouted. He read that the pills might cause drowsiness, as well as excitability. How the hell could they cause one extreme and then the other? He said, "I don't know much about Muggle medicine, but you shouldn't take any more."___

_"But what do I do?" she asked. She was now sitting on a chair, scratching with both hands. He felt itchy just looking at her. ___

_He answered, "Potter should have taken you to St Mungos in the first place. Would you like me to take you?"___

_"Why would you take me?" she asked.___

_"Please, do you really have time for this type of exchange, Itchy, or should I call you 'Scratchy'?" He laughed at his own stupid joke.___

_She let her head hit the table. She was miserable. She said, "I don't even think I can put clothes on, how can I go to St Mungos?"___

_"You can go naked, that's how you can go, for all I care," he said. He came up to her chair and said, "Really, I will take you there if you want me to, with no strings attached."___

_"Why are you so nice most of the times, and then other times, you are such a, such a, well, I can't think of a good word to describe you at the moment, because those pills are making me addled," she admitted.___

_He leaned down to look at her, and said, "May I help you find a word? Tosser would work, but that word is probably too vulgar for you. Wanker would be too common, Bugger would not even begin to cross you pristine lips, Arse you have called me in the past, but that's rather 'been there, done that', too mudane. Git, Prat, they are too vanilla, not descriptive enough."___

_"How about stupid idiot son of a bitch?" she asked.___

_"Well, that seems rather like you are insulting my mother instead of me," he said. He stood back up, and laughed.___

_"Please, shut up and take me to Hospital." She looked close to tears. He stooped back down toward her chair and whisked her into his arms. She pulled the sheet up tighter around her breasts. She said, "I can walk you stupid twit!"___

_"Hey, that word works!" he replied.___

_"Oh, help me, I'm so tired," she suddenly said. He looked down at her face, as she shut her eyes, and he disapparated away._

Present Day -

Hermione Granger and Blaise Zabini were at the top of the landing one moment, and the next moment, they were gone. Harry had just reached the bottom step, when he heard the 'pop' of someone disapparating. He turned around quickly, and saw that Hermione and Blaise were gone. He ran back up the stairs, almost knocking Draco down in the process. Draco turned to curse at him, when he realized why he ran back up the stairs. Granger and Zabini were gone.

"They're gone! He disapparated away with her!" Harry shouted. Running around his upstairs, he looked in each room. He looked in the bathroom. Hermione's wand still laid on the bathmat, where she left it.

All Draco could think was, 'She's gone!' He said, "We should have kept Blaise a rat!"

Hermione was disoriented and confused. She knew Blaise had apparated somewhere with her, but as soon as they arrived at their 'destination', she was roughly pushed in a closet. She heard him shout a silencing spell toward the closet. She could still hear him, so she could only assume the spell was so no one could hear her. She tried the door, but of course, it was locked. She kicked and screamed. She knew that it was ghastly of her to have turned him into a rat, and she was sure that this was her payback, and really, she was thankful that she was at least still a human being, instead of some other species, but still, was it that hard on him having some whiskers and a tail for a few hours?

Damn him.

Suddenly she heard two men arguing. She pressed her ear to the door, but realized that she could hear them as if she were in the room with them. Had he said a spell to magnify their voices? Why would he do that? Did he want her to hear?

She recognized the other man's voice immediately. It was Anthony. She heard Anthony shout at Blaise, "Where have you been all night? I didn't even think you would remember to meet me here this morning!"

"I wasn't aware that I owed you a play by play of every hour of my date book, Goldstein," Blaise said with his easy, high-class drawl. He seemed cool and collected. Hermione wondered if it was an act, or if he truly felt that way.

"Well, since I couldn't find you last night, I didn't know if you had taken care of my problem, therefore I was forced to," Anthony said.

"Yes, I saw the photograph and read the article in your little newspaper," Blaise said easily. "I thought you were going to give me time to convince Hermione to get out of the race. I don't think discrediting her was part of our bargain."

Anthony shouted, "I saw no other choice! You were gone, I couldn't find you. I had Malfoy followed to Harry's house, and then she arrived, and Potter left, so I saw my opportunity and I took it. They made it incredibly easy for me. I thought we might get some grainy photos through some windows. I never imagined we would be handed the first class photos we obtained with their little hot tub escapade!" Anthony laughed like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Still, you claim you didn't want her hurt, but everything you have done so far has been centered on hurting her. Even your convincing Malfoy to run for office against her could have hurt her. The thing with the reporter at the Ministry, and then the theatre, the donation to St Mungos, the fake affair with her former boyfriend/best friend, all of these things were designed to hurt her," Blaise reminded him.

"Well, she was harder to crack than I thought," she heard Anthony brag. "I assumed just the thought of Malfoy running against her would cause her to run for the hills, but no, she had to fall for the git. He's been after her for years, and she doesn't fall for him all that time, but finally, she decides it's time to cave into his charms!"

"Next, I thought, okay, I will plant obstacles in her way. The humiliation with the donation, the shock of finding me and Ron 'in bed', the debate debacle, all of these things should have made her give up! She should have folded! But, no, not fucking Hermione Granger! She had to keep persevering, keep going on, for the good of the people, the stupid bint!"

"That's enough," Blaise said. If he kept insulting her, she was going to find a way out of this closet and kill him with her bare hands. Good thing Blaise told him to stop. "You told me to convince her to concede, yet you didn't even give me a fair chance to do that. Don't you see ruining her reputation won't make her concede? She will come out fighting."

"You don't know her as well as I do," Anthony said. "Her reputation means everything to her. She will be too embarrassed to show her face after this. She will drop out, and then Malfoy will join her, because we all know he gives up everything for her, and then hopefully, Percy will become too ill, he won't be able to back another candidate, or name a successor, and I can come in, as a ringer, and take over the whole thing. In the long run, this is best anyway."

Anthony continued to rant. "I should have known the minute Percy turned me down as successor, and I suggested her, that she would have been too hard to control. I thought the fact that I had her under my thumb, so to speak, all those years, would mean that I could continue to control her, but no. And to think, every time I felt Malfoy getting too close to her over the years, every time she was on the verge of giving in to him, I would come swooping in and convince her to give me another go, and she always did! I thought I could control her just as easily now, but he finally got to her, and it's too late for that."

"Aren't you worried I might sell your secrets, so to speak?" Blaise asked.

"You don't worry me, for I have as much on you as you have on me, Zabini. Besides, once I am Minister, and I repeal this law, and instill a few new ones, we purebloods can be back at the top of the food chain where we belong, and that will help people like you as much as it helps me," Anthony boasted.

"You're right, your paltry secrets are safe with me, but really, didn't you ever love her? I did, and I know that I didn't want to see her hurt. You were with her off and on for eight years, was it all a hoax?" Blaise asked.

"Bloody hell, Zabini, of course I cared for her, hell, I really still do, and if I could had done this any other way, I would have, but I couldn't see another way around it. She doesn't even want the post, so why can't she just step down? I would never poison her or something, like I did Percy!" Hermione gasped in the closet. Anthony was poisoning Percy?

"Yes, you are a variable saint," Blaise laughed.

"You know damn well that I will give the damn antidote to his fucking brother Ron as soon as I win the election. If he doesn't last that long, well, that just means he took one for the pureblood team," Anthony said. "Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Everyday, I have tried to discredit Hermione, and she still won't lose one damn point in the polls, and yet, Malfoy is too close as well, and it's apparent she has him in her pocket. I don't want Percy to die, but I have to win this election, and if I have to get rid of all three to do so, I will."

"Aren't you afraid that since you came out of a closet that you were never really in might hinder you a bit?" Blaise laughed.

"No, I've already written a wonderful article, an interview with myself, so to speak, where I say that I was never gay, I was really the jilted lover, who was blackmailed by big mean Malfoy to say I was gay, so he would have a clear path to pursue his long time affair with my fiancée. It's a brilliant piece of journalism, if I do say so myself," bragged Anthony. "Everyone will be outraged that they have been seeing each other for years, and lying about it, that they will feel so sorry for me, and write me in as their candidate at the last moment."

Blaise said, "They haven't been seeing each other for years."

Anthony responded, "Good as, for he's loved her for years. I will be able to convince the public whatever I want. Now, if there's nothing else, this meeting is over. I have to go find Hermione, and console the poor little thing, and convince her for the sake of her reputation, she simply must leave the race now, before she is completely vilified by the press."

After a few minutes, Blaise came over and opened the closet door. He said, "Have you heard enough, Hermione?"

_Flashback:_

_The healer walked out to the lobby and said, "Good thing you got her here when you did. She really did take too many of those pills, and her breathing had become compromised. She's sleeping right now. The hives are mostly gone. She can go home, and sleep there. She would probably be more comfortable."___

_Draco shook the man's hand and walked in the little room. She was sleeping. They had put a little blue gown on her. He came up and stroked her hair. He said, "Granger, they said you can go home, but will I be able to apparate into your house with you?"___

_She moved her head slightly. She looked so small and fragile in the bed, all alone. He leaned closer and put his mouth on hers. Yes, he was a cad to kiss her while she was sleeping, but he had to take his chance when he could. He placed a small, soft, but lingering kiss on her slightly parted lips. When he lifted his head, she sighed. He touched her face and said again, "Hermione, shall I call Harry to take you home?"___

_"Hmmm," she moaned. Her head lolled to the side. He leaned down once more and kissed her cheek. She was out like a light. She wouldn't be able to answer him, so he would do the honourable thing, call Potter, and he could take her home. He left the room to do just that, entering again after he was assured that Potter would be right there.___

_He sat on the bed, and held her hand. He said, "Granger, I wish I could tell you all the things I feel. I wish you would be open to hear it. I feel like you are such a tough nut to crack, but dammit, Hermione, you are worth it. I won't give up on you, not ever. As long as you let me, I will be in your life. I love you." He leaned over, he knew for possibly the last time in a long time, and he kissed her once more. Another kiss on the lips. "That's how I wish I had kissed you that day last summer. Goodbye, Hermione."___

_"Love you," she softly mumbled. He sat up, shocked, and looked down at her face. She was still sleeping. Was she even aware she had said it? Was she dreaming? Under the influence of drugs? Was she aware she said it to HIM? She loved him. Did she really? He could only stare at her, and wonder. _

_He had to smile. He touched her lips with his thumb and said, "I love you, too."_

Chapter End Notes:

(Author's Note: This morning when I checked the polls, we had the closest race we've had yet, with Hermione at 50 percent, Draco at 49. Now, this evening, I check again, and there are 14 new votes and we are back at 52 to 47 percent, so what can I say?)


	29. Chapter 28

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 28 -**

Present Day -

Hermione sat on the couch, in what she now recognized as Blaise's apartment, and she put her head in her hands. "I can't believe any of this." She shook her head in disbelief.

Blaise sat next to her and said, "We have to turn this around, we have to make Goldstein pay."

"And I think I know how we can do that," Hermione said slowly, looking up at Blaise. "We have to make him think his plan is working. I have to drop out, so that he will give Ron the antidote, to save Percy, and so it will just be Malfoy running. That way, Percy will have no choice but to back Anthony. We have to give Anthony a false sense of security. He has to think he's still running the show, at least for now."

"That won't work, because Percy won't back him," Blaise said. He came and sat beside her, held her hand, and said, "A better plan would be to make him think that you and Draco are no longer together, let Draco win the election. He will think since you are no longer together, he will be able to make Draco take revenge against you by overturning all the things you and Percy accomplished while in office. You have to have a very public falling out with Draco, and let Anthony think that Draco is so angry with you, that he will undo the trade law if he's elected."

"I don't think Draco would do that, go along with that, I mean," Hermione said.

"He doesn't have to know that it's a ploy. I know Draco, if he thinks you are over him, and you leave him, he will be hurt enough to want to hurt you back. It would hurt you if he won the election, and overturned this law."

"He's not that malicious," Hermione said.

Blaise let out a little laugh and said, "But he is. He has waited so long for you; his emotions are in overdrive right now. If you turn against him now, his anger will be unmatched. He will want to get back at you."

"I won't hurt him like that. I've hurt him enough," Hermione said. "There has to be another way."

"Fine, you figure it out, but do it on your own. I have some of my own things to take care of; you should get back to Harry's or something. They are probably worried about you," Blaise said. He stood up and pulled her up as well. He kissed her cheek. "If you need me, let me know."

He disappeared and left her in his flat. She sat down to think some more. She knew that Blaise had a point. She needed to lure Anthony into thinking that she was no longer in love with Draco, and that she was going to drop out of the race. She also needed proof of his plot against the Minister. She knew what she had to do.

She apparated home, and then she called Anthony Goldstein.

Anthony came to her house immediately. She answered her door and ran into his arms. "Oh, Anthony, I've been so very stupid!" she cried as she threw her arms around him.

He patted her back and said, "You mean about the pictures, yes, I saw them."

"Blaise Zabini was just here," she lied, "and he told me that Draco Malfoy planted that photographer at Harry's. He has done all of this to discredit me! He has been playing dirty since the beginning, from the donation to St Mungos, to the reporter catching us at the theatre. He has been playing me for a fool. Blaise told me that Draco never cared for me. He's been using me all along."

She sat on her couch, and hung her head. He came and took her hand. "Oh, Hermione, I am so sorry," Anthony said. "He's done even more than that. He forced Ron and me to pretend that we were in a gay relationship together to embarrass and discredit you, as well."

Hermione wanted to slap him, but she feigned mocked disgust with Draco. "That bastard! But how did he do that?"

"Well, I have no proof, but I think he's behind the Minister's illness. You see, Percy is under the influence of a very slow acting poison, and Draco has the only known antidote, and he wanted us to help you lose, by breaking you emotionally and by hurting your reputation, and if we helped him do that, he said he would give the antidote to Percy to save his life."

"Really? How do you know that?' she asked. She hated Anthony Goldstein.

"The same way you know about him, from Zabini," he lied. He took her hand and said, "I wish I could have protected you better. Here is what I think you should do, drop out, while you still have some dignity left."

"But how will that help?" she asked. "Draco will be named Minister. I should stay in the race just to goad him. Then, become elected, and after my election, I should step down. I could name you my undersecretary, and when I step down, you can be named my successor." She thought of that off the cuff. "Even better, why don't you petition the people to write you in as a candidate?" Hermione thought if he did that, they would have more time to prove his guilt. In addition, if he thought things were finally going his way, maybe he would give the antidote to Ron to save Percy's life. She decided to add, "I think I can talk Percy into supporting this, if he's well enough."

He smiled. He had not thought of that. She continued, "I don't want to be Minister anyway. But, for this to work, we have to make sure that either I am elected, or you are, and after what happened with those picture, we might have some problems there."

"Leave everything to me. I can tell everyone that the picture of you and Draco was doctored, forged. I could even get the photographer to swear to it in a signed statement," he claimed. "You just sit tight here. Let me take care of it all." He left, happy and excited that things were going his way. Hermione was relieved that he was gone.

The only thing she had to do now was to figure out what she was going to do about Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, who at that moment had just apparated to her house.

_Flashback:_

_"That was a close vote, Hermione," Percy said. "I can't believe we won the passing of the new trade law by a mere four votes."___

_"I can't believe that two of the four votes we won were from two people who originally supported Malfoy's side," Hermione said, as she sat down on the couch in Percy's office.___

_"He was there today, in the gallery, did you see him?" Percy asked. He sat in his chair, and rubbed his forehead. ___

_"What's wrong Percy? Another headache?" she asked.___

_"Yes, worse than yesterday. It probably from hunger, but I cannot manage to eat a thing without throwing it back up, all I can manage is weak tea and biscuits. Maybe some more of that tea Anthony gave me will help. Will you brew me some more?" he asked.___

_She nodded and walked over to the small kitchenette that was off his office. She took the green tea infused with almonds, that Anthony had given the Minister, and put it in a tea strainer, and began to heat the water. She made the tea, and brought it to him. She noticed that she began to itch again. "I think I am allergic to this tea," Hermione said. She handed the cup to Percy.___

_"Why do you think that?" he asked.___

_"Well, the other day, after I made you two cups, I had a horrible reaction, hives, and at the time I didn't know what caused it, but today, after making this cup, I have developed hives again, look," and she pulled up her sleeves.___

_"Curious, I've never heard of anyone being allergic to tea," he said.___

_"Maybe I should take care of this, before it gets out of hand like before." She turned to leave and said, "Are you going to be okay?"___

_"Yes, let me just drink my tea." She kissed his cheek and walked out the door.___

_After going back to St Mungos, and receiving almost complete relief from her symptoms, she went back to her office. As soon as she opened the door, she found Draco sitting at her desk.___

_"And what do I owe this displeasure?" she asked, but with a true smile.___

_"I wanted to come and congratulate you on your win, you know, the law, but you were gone. Where in the world did you go? You were gone forever," he said, standing.___

_"Curious thing, that," she said, shutting her office door. "I had to go back to St Mungos for hives again."___

_He frowned. "That is curious. Are you okay?" He stood up to meet her in the center of her office.___

_"Yes, they gave me a potion, but I still have a couple of hives," she said. She pulled up her sleeve to show a perfectly round hive on her arm, on the inside of her elbow.___

_He walked up to her, took her arm in both of his hands and while holding her arm with his hands around her elbow, he touched the small hive gently with his thumb. "Is it itchy?"___

_"No, but apparently it's highly contagious, but only if you touch it," she said. He withdrew his hands quickly and she laughed. "Now I know how to keep you from touching me! I just have to tell you I am contagious, however, I was joking this time."___

_He smirked and raised one eyebrow, "What a crafty little thing you are. I don't care if they are contagious, I too was joking when I let go of your arm so fast."___

_"No you weren't, you were afraid, just like a little girl," she mocked, "Oh, Granger is contagious, and I better not touch her! That is what you thought. Haven't you always thought that? I remember backstage at graduation you didn't want Mudblood germs. Oh, wait, no, I think I am the one that said that. I'm confused." She sat down at her desk. ___

_"What are you rambling on about, Granger?" he asked, taking his familiar perch on top of her desk, by her chair. He looked down at her.___

_"Well, when you came backstage at graduation, drunk I might remind you, you said something about touching me, and I said you might get Mudblood germs, so don't touch me, and you touched me, like this," and she stood up and started to poke him all over his chest and arms with her finger, "and you said, 'touch, touch, touch'." He hit her hands away. She sat back down and said, "You don't recall that, do you?"___

_"I don't recall much of that night, I was dead drunk," he said.___

_"Boy, do I know it," she said. ___

_"I'm not afraid to touch you now," he said.___

_"I think you are, or you wouldn't have dropped my arm like a hot potato the moment you thought I was contagious." She started to stand again, to walk away from the desk, but he pulled her toward him. He pulled up her sleeve. "What are you doing?" she asked.___

_"Touching you. I have a point to get across. I'm not afraid of you, or your germs, even if you are contagious." He brought her arm up to his mouth, and placed a small kiss inside the crook of her arm, which sent shivers down her spine. "By the way, Granger, speaking of remembering things," he said, his hands still holding her arm, "Do you remember what you said to me when you were at St Mungos two nights ago?"___

_"Did I say that you were a right piece of work and a complete poof?" she asked.___

_"No, you said that about Goldstein," he said. He put his arms around her and pulled her close to his body. He was surprised she was so malleable today. She did not know why she was letting him do this either, except it felt somewhat nice. He said, "You said that I was dead gorgeous and that you couldn't live without me." ___

_"Ha! I don't think so." She pushed away from his chest. "More likely I said you were a complete arse-hole." She sat back at her desk.___

_"No, you didn't say that, not that time, anyway. I'll tell you someday what you said. I should go, I have important work to do, unlike the piddling little work you do around here." He jumped off her desk, and said, "By the way, sunshine, you said you have a couple of hives left, where's the other ones?"___

_Her eyes narrowed to stare at him, and she said, "Someplace you will never see." ___

_"Never? Don't count on that. You are such a funny little thing, Granger. You were so out of it the other night, on that medicine, if you recall, and you were completely naked with nothing on but a sheet. By the time I got you to St Mungos, I had a nice little peek at your bits, so I am sure I saw it all." He laughed, hoping she would believe his lie, and went to her door. He turned back and said, "And I plan on seeing it all again." That part wasn't a lie. He figured if she did not remember telling him that she loved him, she wouldn't remember if he had seen her naked or not. He turned to face her when he reached the door. She looked shocked. He smiled again and said, "Ta, Granger. I'll SEE you soon, I am sure."_

Present Day:

Draco rushed up to her first and grabbed her in his strong embrace. He said, "Blaise just told us everything."

"Did he?" she asked. She looked over at Harry.

"We have got to find evidence against Goldstein," Harry said, going into full Auror mode.

"Well, I heard him admit everything, won't that help?" she asked.

Draco answered, "Its hearsay. Yours and Blaise's word against his. You should have recorded it or something."

"What do you think, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I think you should leave the sleuthing to us Aurors, although I feel duty bound to let the Minister know what we suspect. I just don't want to have to do that, but the healers must be made aware of what's going on, in case they can help him. Still, I don't want Anthony to know we are onto him yet."

"Well, Anthony just left here," Hermione said, "And I think I have bought us some time with him. I told him that Draco and I had a falling out, and he told me that Draco was behind everything."

"That grotty little bastard!" Draco exclaimed. "Listen, the only thing I admit to is that Goldstein did suggest that I join the race, and while he pretended that he did it because he was looking out for all purebloods and because of this law, I knew I wanted to do it, at first anyway, to make you notice me. That's all; well no it's not, but never mind."

Hermione said, "No, tell me what else you were going to say."

Harry sat on the couch, to listen as well. "Fine, my true intentions, finally revealed to you. Here goes, I was named number one at University, but I gave it up for you. You already know that one. I was given the Ministry internship, but I gave it up for you. Percy Weasley, the moment Mr. Spine was fired, offered me the job as Undersecretary, but I told him to give it to you. I had the trade vote passed last year, even though I originally fought against it, and I did it for you. And my last great performance, the one I wanted to use to finally win you over, was that I was going to run against you and at the very end, give it up, for you. I have done all of that for you. I would do it again, except for the last one, because, by Merlin, I want the Minister position now."

She was flabbergasted by his admission. She felt like every accomplishment she had ever gotten was false. She looked at him in shock. "Well, guess what, Malfoy?" she asked, walking over to the hallway. "I was going to tell you that for my plan to bring Anthony to justice to work, we would have to act like we were no longer seeing each other, but since you've cleared up so much for me, made me see that nothing in my life matters, none of my rewards were my own, I think I really DON'T want to see you any longer." She turned to walk in her bedroom, but came back out to the living room, where Draco stood in shock, with Harry now right beside him.

"How dare you manipulate my life!" she said, pointing her finger at him.

"I did it because I loved you!" he shouted. "I had to make you finally see that!"

"Well, don't love me anymore, because it's boils down to the fact that my life is a bunch of lies. Not only has Anthony manipulated me for years, but now I find that you have as well! His betrayal has hurt me, but your lies have cut me to the quick. Leave my house, Draco Malfoy. I really don't want to see you right now." She ran to her bedroom and shut the door.

"What!" he turned and said to Harry. "I was finally honest with her and she acts like this!"

"How do you expect her to feel? Blaise was right, her self-respect is the most important thing to her, and you have stripped her of it. You have just told her that all her major accomplishments over the past seven years have been handed to her because of you. How do you think that would make someone feel?" Harry started to leave, but turned back and said, "I have more important things to worry about right now, besides you and your love life, like trying to save Percy's life, and trying to bring Goldstein to justice, but by all that is holy, Malfoy, you better make this up to her, somehow." Harry left.

Draco paced back and forth in her living room. Potter was right and so was Hermione. Nevertheless, he could not undo anything at the present. He did all of these things in the name of love, and he thought for selfless reasons, but that was not at all correct. He had ulterior motives for everything he had ever done. He was not selfless. He was selfish. Well, the best thing he could do at this time was to stop seeing Granger, stay in the election, and let one of them win on their own merit for a change. Either way, it was better than lying.

He walked to her bedroom door to tell her his decision. He knocked. She opened the door, and sat back on the bed.

"See that blue ribbon on that shelf, by that picture of my parents?" she asked. He walked into the bedroom and looked at the blue ribbon. She continued, "I won that at age nine for a science competition I was in, but now, I wonder, did you really win that and give it to me?"

She was bonkers. He said, "I didn't even know you at age nine."

She ignored him and said, "How about my full scholarship to University. Did you really pay for that?"

"Of course not, I didn't even know you got a full scholarship, and you know what Granger, you had a double major, so the fact that you came in second place, while working twice as hard, means more than my first place," he reasoned.

She stood up and pushed him. He fell backwards, stumbled, and hit the bookshelf. "Don't placate me now with your false words of my accomplishments!" She felt battered. This had been a terrible day, and it was getting worse.

He approached her slowly and said, "So, you can't think of one little thing you did on your own, without me handing it to you, because I could spout off probably over a hundred without taking a break to breathe."

She rubbed her eyes and fell back on the bed. "You have a point, but Draco, why give up everything for me? I wouldn't have wanted them that way, and also, I wouldn't have wanted you to give up things that were important to you."

He came to lie down beside her. He propped himself up on his side. He said, "That's it, exactly, Granger. None of this was important to me, until now, being Minister. I want this, and I do not want to roll over and just give it to you. I have finally realized that I can love you and have what I want."

She sat up and said, "Are you sure you really want this now, or are you just saying that because you know you already have me, so you won't need to give it up to prove anything to me."

"I haven't even begun to prove to you how much I love you, not by a long shot," he complained, "and frankly, Granger, I'm tired. I would have just said that I loved you a long time ago, if that would have been enough, but I tried that, and it never was."

"You never seriously tried," she reasoned. "Flippantly saying you loved me each time I said I hated you wasn't a serious way to convince me."

He sat up beside her. "Well, you wouldn't have seriously believed me, so I didn't seriously try, you are right. That doesn't mean I didn't love you."

"What are we going to do? I don't want to go back to hiding our relationship, but I told Anthony I was angry with you, and I didn't want to see you any longer," she said.

"Hell, you really were angry with me just a moment ago. You wanted to kick my arse to the curb," he reminded.

"I would do that if it would knock some sense into that blond head of yours," she said. She started to walk to the bedroom door. He grabbed her hand.

"Come here, Granger," he said. He pulled her to his lap. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder. "If it will help bring down Goldstein, we should act like we hate each other again, even though neither of us really hated each other before, at least not for many years."

"I can't go back to hating you, because you are right, I don't even know if I remember how that felt," she said. She kissed his neck; her hands went to embrace both sides of his face. She stared at him for a while, and then kissed his mouth softly.

He continued to cradle her in his arms, and he leaned backwards and moved on top of her so that she was underneath him on the bed. He kissed her face and her eyes. His hand crept up under her blouse, to toy with the lace covering over one of her breasts. He kissed the mound over her clothing, and then brought his head up to her mouth and placed a long, lingering, seeking kiss on her lips, sucking on them coyly, toying with her tongue, raking his tongue around hers, and over her teeth. Her lips felt like velvet against his. He licked her lips as his hand crept down to bring her skirt upwards. He placed his hand on her thigh. He said, "You really do love me now, don't you? This won't break us apart, will it?"

"Goodness," she said, her voice quivering with anticipation at his touch. "I guess I am stuck with you now, so I should put you to good use."

"I can think how I can be of use," he said, with that ever-loving smirk everyone always wrote about, plastered on his face.

They soon were throwing their clothing everywhere. Passion filled the room, and hung heavy, like a perfume, which consumed their senses. He put his mouth to her nipples and began to suck, first one and then the other. He had a very talented mouth. She knew that for certain.

He traveled down her body, slowly. He rounded each nipple with a stroke of his tongue. He kissed his way down and around each mound, as his hands held her arms next to her body. She ached to touch him back, but at that instant, he wouldn't allow it.

He positioned himself between her thighs, which she tried to close out of reflex, but which he pried open. She squirmed on the bed, and he chuckled. He said, "I really think this is something I will enjoy giving you, and you won't complain about, too much."

"Shut up already," she said, as she stared down at him.

He gave her opening one long lick with his tongue. He rested his chin on her lower abdomen and said, "You always talk during sex, and now you won't let me talk?"

She was incredibly aroused. His hands held her hips, as she placed one leg over his shoulder. His fingers clamped down on her hard, to keep her from moving, as his talented tongue sent the most incredible sensation from her toes through her spine and out the top of her head. He licked and sucked, flicking her, and then nibbling, even as his blond silky hair tickled the insides of her thighs.

He stopped and said, "Is this something you really want? I don't want to be accused of giving you something that you do not feel you rightfully earned," he mocked. He went back to his task, as he finally found her most sensitive spot, and paid it the service it was due.

"Please, Malfoy, give it to me, already." She was drowning and he alone could bring her to the surface.

Without further ado, he stroked her until she was in a full climax. He climbed back up her body, as it wiggled out of control under him, and parting her lower lips with his hand, he entered her quick and effortlessly. His heart thumped so hard in his chest, he was sure she could hear it.

"This is for me, this time," he uttered. Even he didn't know how he managed to continue to speak. She cried out his name, and that alone, sent him over the edge sooner than he had wanted. As he deepened his strokes into her silky tight walls, teasing her with deep, forceful thrusts, he too screamed. He rocked his hips in a circular motion, each time, bringing pressure to her deep inside, as well as somehow, paying attention to the small pink membrane at her opening. He could not have formed another coherent word if he had tried. All he could do was scream out her name, as he brought her to a mutual release, that he was more than happy to share with her.

He remained on top of her for many minutes. She was too tired and spent to care. He finally rolled off her, and pulled her to him, in possessiveness which he had always felt toward her, but had never allowed himself to show. He said, "Are you mine?"

"I guess," she said in a sex-induced haze.

He kissed her hair and then looked at her and said, "When did you really love me, do you recall?"

"No," she said truthfully.

"I do," he said. He stroked her arm and said, "You first admitted it last year at St. Mungos, when I took you in for your hives."

Hermione shot up out of bed, with a renewed energy, scaring him so badly that he actually fell off the side of the bed, onto the floor. She leaned down, looked at him as he was splayed awkwardly on the floor, and said, "The tea! I think there might have been something with the tea Anthony gave Percy!" She threw her feet on the floor, and ran out of the room.

He frowned, as he lay naked on her floor. He said, "What does bloody tea have to do with her loving me?"

Chapter End Notes:

(Poll results: Hermione at 51 percent, Draco at 48 percent, with 274 individual votes!)


	30. Chapter 29

All characters belong to JKR

Chapter 29 -

Present Day:

Draco struggled to free his feet, which were trapped in the sheet when he fell to the floor, so that he could stand. He stood up, slipped on his slacks, and heard her shower running. He went to make some coffee. He was about to knock on the door when she pushed past him, towel barely wrapped around her body, completely wet. She went to her room and threw open her underwear drawer. He looked at her amused. She hopped up and down, trying to put her knickers on, before she struggled to put on a clean bra. She threw open her closet, and slipped a blouse over her shoulders. She missed the third button entirely, instead, putting the fourth button in the third buttonhole. She slipped on a beige pair of pants and grabbed some shoes.

He was still standing by her doorframe, leaning against the wood molding, blocking her way.

He put his hands on her shoulders. He calmly stopped her, brought his hands to her shirt, and began to unbutton.

"Are you human? We just did that, and we don't have time to do it again," she said, as she tried to slap away his hand.

"I'm helping, you moron," he said. He continued to unbutton, and she realized why, so she let him continue. He straightened her now correctly buttoned blouse and let his hands come up to the collar. He held both sides of the collar, and pulled her close, and kissed her lips. "Why did you mention something about tea?"

"The poisons in the tea!" she shouted.

"What tea?" he asked.

"Get showered, and then dressed and I will explain."

Harry sat in his office listening to Hermione Granger's account of her theory on the poison tea. "Okay, so you say this was about ten months ago, what kind of poison is that slow acting? Also, is he still drinking this tea?"

"Yes, he is, not every day, but frequently," Hermione said.

"And there are plenty of poisons from both magical plants and common Muggle plants that are slow acting poisons. He might even be building a sort of immunity against the poison, although that doesn't mean he won't succumb to it soon," Draco said. "You need to get in his office and see if there's any of that tea left, have it examined, and then see if you can trace it back to Goldstein."

"Listen, I told Percy what we suspect, so let me go fill him in on this latest discovery. Anthony called a press conference for noon in the lobby of the Ministry," Harry informed them, "Are you two still game for a public falling out? Percy thinks that is our best course of action. We need to continue to string Anthony along, for now."

"No one but our friends, Zabini, and that one reporter knows that we have really struck up a relationship yet, as we have been discreet, but yes, I am game, are you Granger?" Draco turned to her.

She looked unsure, but then said, "Fine, I guess, but what will we say about those pictures?"

"Two things, the Minister will vouch that you were with him last night, Hermione, and then, since it was my house, I will say that Malfoy was there as my guest and that he had some girl over, and it definitely wasn't you," Harry said.

"I don't want everyone lying for me," she said.

"Consider it undercover work," Harry said, reaching out and squeezing her hand. "I still have to talk to Ron. Tell him we know, and tell him he has to play along."

"But if I let Draco take the fall for this," she started, "that might ruin his chances for winning."

"He won't have to take the fall," Blaise said, walking into the office from the hall. "I will. I will say that I lured a girl who looked enough like Granger to Harry's, and that Draco and she had relations in the hot tub, and I had the photographer planted there to capture the fun."

Hermione looked put off and said, "And why will people believe that?"

"I will tell the people that I was trying to extort money from him and also from you. Neither of you would pay, so I had to carry out this little plan."

"Why would people believe that?" she asked.

"I don't know that they will, we can only hope, and before you say any more, Granger," Blaise said, "I need to do this, to make up for some things, and I don't have a reputation to worry about or ruin. It will all work out, I promise."

Hermione sat down, worried. She looked up into the faces of Harry, Blaise and Draco. She said, "Well, let's get started."

Blaise started to leave Harry's office, but ran back in and said, "You better start acting, and soon, because Anthony is coming down the hall now."

Blaise went and hid under Harry's desk. Hermione hastened to stand. Anthony walked into the office just as Hermione rounded her hand back and slapped Draco hard on the cheek.

"You are a right bastard, Malfoy!" she shouted.

Anthony ran up to her and grabbed her arm. "Don't go down to his level, Hermione," he said.

Draco held his cheek. Damn, that hurt. He said, "No one will believe you didn't know about the pictures, Granger. Kiss the election goodbye."

"We are holding a press conference in an hour, Malfoy," Anthony said, "and everyone will know the truth. You kiss this election goodbye. Come on, Hermione, I need to get you prepped." Anthony took her hand and started out of Harry's office with her. She turned and looked at Draco as she left. She looked sad. She held her hand out to him. He wished he could take it.

_Flashback:___

_Sixth year at Hogwarts was perhaps the worse year of Draco Malfoy's life. His father was in prison, the Dark Lord had given him an impossible task to complete, and he felt isolated and alone.___

_His grades were slipping, he had trouble concentrating, and he was constantly worried for his mother. What was more; he wanted it all to end. He wanted out, but he didn't know how. He did not want to kill the Headmaster, he did not want to serve the Dark Lord, and he did not want to hurt anyone.___

_He was walking down the hallway, after three hours in the Room of Requirement, trying to repair the broken cabinet, when he ran straight into Hermione Granger. She too seemed preoccupied. He knocked her on her arse, and her books, quills, and parchments went everywhere. He looked down at her, she looked up at him, and neither said a word. ___

_Normally, he would have said something like, "Watch where you are going, Mudblood," or some other such trite, but at that moment, he just watched her as she picked up her quills and parchments. He noticed that she had scraped her knee on the flagstone floor when she fell. He didn't notice until she stood up that it was bleeding. Red blood came from the wound. Her blood was red, just like his.___

_He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. When she started to walk away, he pointed to a quill she had forgotten, which was by the far wall. He pointed and said, "You forgot one, Mud, I mean, Granger." He almost said Mudblood. He didn't know why he stopped.___

_She looked to where he pointed and she hobbled over to pick up the quill. She must have hurt herself more than he thought when she fell down. Without a word to him, she picked it up and put in on top of her pile. She glanced at him once, nodded her head slightly to him in thanks, or acknowledgment of some kind, and she turned to limp down the hall. He regarded her with a narrow gaze. ___

_Still leaning on the wall, he said, "Stop!"___

_She did, and she turned around slowly. The blood that was on the scraped knee was flowing liberally now. He looked at it as it started to stain her white knee sock red. He pulled out a handkerchief and took three steps closer to her. He held it out to her.___

_She looked at it, and then back at him. Now her eyes narrowed. "What are you playing?" she asked.___

_"Take it, for your knee," he growled.___

_"No thank you," she said. She turned back around. He ran up to her, and for the first time in his life, he actually touched her arm. He pulled on her arm, and spun her slightly around.___

_When he looked at her face this time, he thought she looked scared. Yes, something about her expression relayed fear. She feared him. She probably hated him, too, but at that moment, he thought she feared him. He had never seen that look from her before. ___

_He pushed her up against the wall, just by moving closer to her. He did not have to touch her. She seemed to tremble. He thought she looked about ready to drop her books. Probably to reach for her wand.___

_This was what he had become. Someone people feared. He scared a woman, no, a slip of a girl. He never wanted this. He stood his full height. He was considerably taller than she was. He looked down at her and lifted his hand. She dropped her gaze, and moved her head slightly to the side.___

_"I'm not going to hit you, you know," he said. He took his handkerchief and plopped it on her pile of books. He turned and walked down the hall. That was the last 'conversation' they had with each other, until the ceremony to remember the Battle of Hogwarts.___

_No, he was wrong. There was one other short conversation, right after the final battle. Voldemort was dead, killed by Harry Potter. There were more dead being brought into the Great Hall every minute. All around, people were cheering and crying. It was a surreal experience. It was profoundly sad, and exhilarating at the same time.___

_His mother, father and he, stood huddled in a corner, in the Great Hall. His mother told him and his father what she had done to save Harry, and how he had told her that Draco was alive. They did not know what to do, or where to go. Would they be arrested? If they tried to leave, would someone try to kill them? They were in limbo, thus, the reason they stood there and waited.___

_After several hours, the elves began to fill the tables that were remaining with food for the survivors. Draco walked over to one of the long tables of food to get a plate of food for his mother. Aurors and Ministry officials had already come to talk to them. His father did not have a wand, and they took his mother's wand from Draco. They were told that when the Aurors were done talking to them, they could go home, but they would be under house arrest, and would be prohibited from using magic until a trial could be set.___

_They were tired and hungry, but so was everyone else. Draco began to fill a plate. He moved to his right, not watching where he was going, and his arm bumped into someone. He turned and looked down. He looked down into the big brown eyes of Hermione Granger. She looked so changed. She had lost so much weight that he would hardly recognize her. Besides the physical change, she looked like her spirit had been broken. He wanted to say, 'join the club'. He had already heard, from several people in the room that day, about what she and her friends had been through that year.___

_If he thought sixth year was hard for him, it was nothing compared to what she had gone through. He looked away, embarrassed and ashamed. He put the plate he was making for his mother down and walked back over to where she sat, now alone, as his father was still being questioned.___

_He looked up when he heard footsteps approach. There, in front of him, was Hermione Granger. She held out two plates. She handed one to his mother, who smiled at her, half-embarrassed, half-thankful. She held up the second plate for Malfoy. He took it from her and turned away. She turned to leave, but he turned back quickly and said, "Thank you."___

_She merely nodded. She nodded her 'your welcome' much as she nodded her 'thank you' to him the year before.___

_He never forgot her kindness.___

_When he saw her at the registration for University, he thought she looked much better. She had gained some weight, and her eyes were brighter. He had just seen her a month before at the celebration commemorating the Battle of Hogwarts. He wondered what she was majoring in, and if they would have any classes together. She walked past, having not noticed him. He decided to follow her. He saw her go up to the "Magical Law" building. He had to smile. She was majoring in Magical Law. Well, perhaps Draco would change his major from Business to Business Law. Maybe they would have some classes together.___

_That might be nice._

Present Day:

Draco went back to his office. He read the afternoon papers. He was ahead in the polls for the first time, by one percent. Still, it was a lead. He wondered if it would last.

He read all about Hermione's news conference. Anthony had everyone eating out of the palm of his hand, as he told everyone that Hermione and Draco weren't friendly, let alone a couple. That she was with him and the Minister last night, and that he had a signed testimonial from the photographer that the pictures was of Malfoy and another woman and that they were forged to look like they were Hermione.

Draco hated the fact that he had to hide his love for her, especially since he had waited so long to show it to her. What if in the course of pretending to hate each other again, they actually let the hate consume their lives, and they forget that it was false. Would she forget that she finally loved him? He knew he would never forget, but would she?

He would find out, because there was a 'meet and greet the candidates' cocktail party tonight, at the Mercy Hotel Banquet Room. It was the same Hall where they held their graduation, all those years ago.

He knew the reporters would be relentless to him. There goes his one point lead, he thought. Well, if Blaise were willing to take all the blame, although Draco couldn't figure out why he would, he would let him. He would tell everyone that Blaise did it all. Why they would believe that would be the question to ask.

He went home to shower and change for the cocktail party.

Hermione and Anthony arrived at the cocktail party. She could barely look at him, and each time he touched her, her hand, her back, her arm, she wanted to cringe. She wanted to scourer the offending body part with boiling hot water and soap.

After pressing through the reporters, photographers, and other press, they arrived inside. Draco was already there, talking with the head healer of St Mungos. He had decided to give back his donation. He was telling the man as much when she walked in with Anthony. She looked miserable and alone. She looked at him and gave him a sad smile, and then turned away.

A second later, Anthony had his hand possessively on her back, leading her from one small group of people to the next. Draco wanted to take his hand off her back, break it off his arm, and stuff it down the man's throat.

Draco knew it was time for the show. Harry had told him what he needed to say and do, but he was reluctant. He approached her slowly, while she was talking to a local business owner. He said, "There's my worthy opponent now. To think, people actually really thought that it was she that was with me in that hot tub. Now seriously, don't you assume I have more taste than that?"

The man that was with her laughed nervously, and said, "I don't know, Malfoy, she's a beautiful woman."

Hermione turned around and looked at Draco closely. "What are you rambling on about now, Malfoy?"

"I was talking about how that damn paper today tried to ruin my reputation by saying you and I were having sex last night," he said, loud enough for others to hear.

"I rather think it was my reputation they were trying to ruin, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione said calmly.

"Your reputation could only be helped by an association with me. Better me than some gay man, whom you have been dating off and on for years. Wasn't your other boyfriend recently found out to be gay as well?" he asked. He took a flute of champagne from a passing server. He raised it to his lips.

She said, "Anthony explained all of that in the press conference this afternoon, Mr. Malfoy. It appears someone has been trying to blackmail him into telling everyone that he was gay, but he has decided to stand up to the blackmailer, and he has told the press the truth, that while we are no longer a couple, he is no more gay than you are. You wouldn't know who might be blackmailing him, do you?"

"I hope you aren't suggesting any impropriety on my part, Miss Granger. Those are liable words, you know," Draco stated.

All eyes were on them. Hermione felt overwhelmingly depressed. She didn't want to carry on with this charade, but then she saw Anthony's self-satisfied look, and she knew that she couldn't let him get away with everything he had thus far planned, so she continued, "Those words are only liable if they are false."

He smiled. He did it so the crowd would think he felt smug. He also did it to give her courage to continue. "If you are accusing me of something, either hurry up and point it out, but make sure you have solid proof to back your words, or please keep your pointed opinions to yourself," he said.

The host of the cocktail party came between them. He said, "Politics can be quite a dirty business, but this is a meet and greet, and since you two already know each other, how about you mingle and meet everyone else."

Hermione felt grateful toward their host. Draco said, "No, I didn't think you had any proof. Let us do as our host suggest, and meet others, Granger. Oh, but before we part, did you see the latest polls. I am ahead."

"Congratulations," was all she said. She really couldn't say any more if she wanted. She wanted to either run into his arms, or run away. Instead, she turned and walked toward a small group of people. She introduced herself, and began to converse with them. She kept turning her head, to watch Draco.

After an hour of boring conversation, Draco's eyes swept the banquet hall for Hermione. He saw her as she walked up the small stage, and went back behind a curtain. He made his apologies to several people to whom he was talking, and he quietly slipped through the curtain to join her backstage.

She stood by the exit that led to the alley. He walked up to her. She didn't even turn around. She knew it was he. She said, "I hate this."

"At least you didn't say you hate me," he said lightly.

"I don't think I can do this," she said softly, shifting slightly so she faced him. He looked to his left and then to his right and he walked up to her, pressed his body next to hers, and nudge his nose to her cheek.

He whispered in her ear, "It won't be long. I still love you."

She pushed him away and said, "Someone might see, I should get back." She started to walk past him when she turned around. She said, "That day of graduation, I know you don't really recall it very much, because as you said, you were pissed out of your mind, but I have to say that I don't regret helping you that day." She started to cry. He reached in his pocket and handed her a silk blue handkerchief, which matched his shirt. She took it from him, dapped her eyes, and said, "I still owe you two of these."

"Well, I'll be sure to collect them, then," he smiled. She walked up the stairs, still holding his pocket square, and he almost felt as if she was walking out of his life. He was going to make Anthony Goldstein pay if it was the last thing he ever did.

_Flashback:_

_It was 4 o'clock the next afternoon before his mother and he were allowed to go home from Hogwarts. His father was being taken into immediate custody. They were to be escorted to the Manor by the Ministry officials, who also wanted to search the massive home, since it was used as Voldemort's headquarters. Draco did not care, as long as he could take a hot shower and get some sleep.___

_He passed by a group of Weasleys. He knew one of the twins had died. He did not know which one, not that it mattered. It was still sad. His mother was waiting for him outside in the courtyard. He started down the stairs to meet her, after walking out the massive double doors. There sat Granger, outside, all by herself, on the steps. He did not know what possessed him, but she was all alone, and despondent, and even though his mother and the Aurors were waiting for him, he felt compelled to sit down next to her for a moment.___

_He sat down on the same step, a good distance away. He noticed that her hand had a nasty cut on the top. The blood was congealed and there was dirt around the wound. He took out another handkerchief, his father told him once that a man should always have a clean handkerchief with him, and he held it out toward her. She could use it for her tears or for the cut. He didn't care which. She didn't seem to notice, so he hit the side of her arm with the hand holding the grey piece of embroidered silk. She looked at the hand, and then up to his face. He stood back up, still offering her the small square piece of fabric. She took it without question, and wrapped it around her hand.___

_He ran down the steps toward his mother. He looked back at her once, but she had already turned to walk back in the doors. _

Chapter End Notes:

(Poll results: for the first time, Draco is slightly ahead, with 50 percent to Hermione's 49 percent. I do not want to get too excited. There has been six new votes since this morning, and I guess they were all for him!)


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30 –**

Present Day:

In the midst of speaking with some slimy wizard, who was talking about some wretched law he wanted passed, Draco Malfoy feigned interest, all the while scanning the room for Hermione. He knew she had not left yet because the squirrelly little bastard, also known as Anthony Goldstein, was still here.

Draco felt a tug on his sleeve, hoping it was she. He turned around, but it was not her. It was the young reporter from the theatre, and the restaurant. She said, "Interesting turn of events isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

"Oh, just, first you and your opponent aren't a couple, then you are but you are hiding, then you are, but you aren't hiding; now you aren't and presumably never were. My head is positively spinning," she laughed.

"Your head, what about mine, sweetheart," Draco said.

"Listen, I told you the truth when I said that I would like the exclusive about you two, and I will wait until the election is over, just tell me what you know. I think you should trust me. I haven't said anything yet," she said.

Draco regarded her for a moment and said, "Maybe you can help me, and in return, I shall help you."

"I would like that, very much," she smiled.

"First, don't you think it's curious that Mr. Goldstein keeps changing his sexual orientation? Talk about becoming dizzy; straight, gay, straight. I don't know, but there might be a story there," Draco led.

"There might be, there might even be more of a story there than just that," she said.

"There might be," Draco agreed.

"You might say that Mr. Goldstein paid off a friend of mine, a certain photographer, to take pictures of you and a certain woman, and then paid him even more to say it wasn't the woman at all," she smiled.

Draco smiled wider and said, "I like your style, sweetheart. You might also say that Mr. Goldstein is your friend's employers, unbeknownst to the public."

"Now that would be interesting, and believe it or not, I just want the truth," she said.

"Then dig into Goldstein's past, and perhaps some of his investments and holdings. Like that newspaper in which your friend is employed. Give Blaise Zabini another call, also. He knows a few things about the subject. You find out all you know on Goldstein, report back to me, I will fill in any gaps I can for you, and in return, you will get the biggest story of your career, one full of intrigue, lies, extortion, and even the attempted murder of a very prominent person. I will give you the exclusive on Granger and I as well."

"You aren't just trying to make me go away, are you?" the young girl asked.

"Believe me, you scratch my back, and I will be virtual calamine lotion for your back," Draco sneered.

"I'll be in touch, I have a photographer friend in which I must see," she said, as she smoothly left the room. Draco looked up in time to see Anthony staring right at him. Draco raised his glass to Anthony. Anthony walked over to him.

"Malfoy," Anthony greeted.

"Goldstein," Draco said back.

"Good to see that Hermione has finally figured out that you were using her," Anthony said, "I'm glad that Blaise talked some sense into her."

"Hermione has always has been blind, and trusting," Draco said. "But you don't seriously think that she believes you, do you?"

"Believes me about what?" Anthony asked.

"Believes that you just have her best interest at heart. I wonder how she would feel if she knew that you are the one who first asked me to run against her for Minister," Draco asked.

"First, she wouldn't believe you, second, so what? If I did, which I am not admitting to, but if I did, what is the harm? Perhaps I wanted her to really win, not just have the post handed to her," Anthony said.

"Grasping at straws does not become you, but then again, nothing becomes you, Goldstein," Draco said lazily. "What would she think if she found out you asked me to best her donation to St Mungos?" Draco knew that Hermione already knew these things, from the conversation she overheard between Blaise and Anthony, but Anthony did not have to know that.

"Again, I think you would come out in the bad light, not I. You, who claim to have loved her for years, yes, I think that news would not go over well. She no longer cares for you, nor does she trust you. Leave her alone, Malfoy," Anthony barked.

"I might, and I might not, then again, I might want to have her for tea tomorrow. I've been thinking about trying a new brand of tea, do you know a good brand of tea I could try?" Draco asked.

"Do I look like the tea fairy?' Anthony asked.

"No bother, I'll ask someone else, perhaps the Minister of Magic can recommend a good tea for me," Draco stated. He knew he was pushing things the moment he saw how red Anthony's face had become. "I think Hermione said that there was a specific tea that the Minister enjoyed. Perhaps she could try it before I do, and she can tell me how it tastes. Do you want her to try it, Goldstein?"

"You're insane, Malfoy," Anthony said as he began to sweat.

"One word of warning, Goldstein, you may have won the battle, but I will win the war, and if I find there are any casualties from the battle, say, the Minister, or a certain Undersecretary, than I will make you pay dearly," Draco warned.

Anthony said, "Big talk, Malfoy. If you were that concerned about her, you would drop out, and protect her. Without you by her side, it is hard to tell what type of accident might occur. She has always been so clumsy. You know that. Remember that time right after the vote for the tax law, when she slipped and fell down the stairs? You don't want something like that to happen again, do you? Do not warn me against anything. You may be a Death Eater's son, but you have never dealt with anyone like me before."

"You won't touch a hair on her head," Draco said evenly.

"I might, and what shall you do about it, with all your talk about tea and things. I am not scared of you, not by a long shot, and neither am I scared of your threats, because you cannot prove a thing. Run along and play, Malfoy," Anthony said. Hermione walked up to them right at that moment.

"Anthony, I think I shall leave, I have a slight headache, and I am starving, and nothing here looks good to eat," she said.

He smiled at her, and kissed her hand. He turned to Malfoy and said, "Maybe some tea might take her headache away, don't you think, Malfoy?"

Draco clenched his jaw. He should never have let on about the tea. Potter would have his head for that, and he put Hermione in undue danger. Anthony said, "I'll take you home, Hermione."

"No need, I'll see myself home. Just because I'm not dating Malfoy, doesn't mean you and I are going to get back together, Anthony. You are helping me with the election and that's all," she said. She turned and left without telling Draco goodbye.

"Touché, Goldstein," Draco laughed. He too left the man standing all alone. He was going to make his apologies, say his goodbyes, and go make sure Granger was okay. He realized he needed to go see Potter before he checked on her, however. He had to tell Potter about Goldstein's threats. What if he did hurt Hermione? He would never forgive himself. He went straight to the Ministry, where he knew Potter would still be, and told him about the tea slip up. Potter was furious. He told Draco that the tea was still being tested. He also told him that they had undercover Aurors on the Minister, Anthony, Draco and Hermione. He said that Anthony was being watched very closely, so there was no way Anthony could harm her. Harry told Draco that he had personally changed the wards on her house, so that Anthony could not enter.

Harry also told him that Blaise had decided to work with them, but for now, he was in protective custody.

As Draco walked out of Harry's office, he thought about what Anthony had said about her accident right after the vote for the tax law, last year. He remembered that day. What if Anthony had caused that accident out of his anger at the passing of the law? She could have been seriously injured that day. She almost was seriously injured that day, but not from the fall, but by Draco himself, after the fall.

_Flashback:_

_Draco had just left Hermione's office, after congratulating her on winning the vote for the new trade law. Yes, the trade law caused higher taxes on all purebloods, more or less 'taxation without representation', and it would cost him millions of galleons a year, but she was right, he could afford it, and still have plenty of money to spare.___

_He waited in her office to tell her that he threw the vote her way, because he finally wanted some recognition for his good deeds. Then, she told him she had just come back from St. Mungos, and she had hives again, and he pulled her to him and kissed her arm, and well, his brain became mush and he could no longer think straight, so he forgot to take credit or say anything to her about the vote.___

_He stood in the stairwell, and he stopped on the landing to the floor for the lobby. He stopped because he heard her voice. She was calling after Anthony Goldstein. It sounded like they were arguing. He stood by the door that would lead to the lobby, and strained to listen.___

_He heard the word, "Meddling" and "leave it alone." Then he heard Goldstein definitely tell her go back to her office and to be quiet. The next thing he heard was a thump, a curse, and a cry.___

_He ran down the two sets of stairs, and he saw her on the ground, on the landing, clutching her wrist. Anthony was standing over her, with a true and utter look of surprise on his face. At the time, Draco actually thought he looked a bit guilty, but he gave it no more thought as soon as he saw her on the ground. She was taking deep breaths, trying hard not to cry, that much was apparent.___

_Draco knew he had no right, he was not anything to Granger, but she was something to him, so he pushed Anthony aside, kneeled next to her, and asked, "What happened?"___

_"I don't know," she said, each word laced with pain and holding back a flood of tears that threatened to escape her eyes. "I turned on the steps to head downstairs, as Anthony headed upstairs, and it was almost as if, well, I mean, I guess I fell." She looked up at Anthony, and then back to Draco.___

_"Granger, you are a clumsy thing, aren't you?" Draco smiled. He reached under her arms and stood her up effortlessly. Anthony put one hand on her back. She tried to take a step, but made a small painful sound, and leaned against the wall.___

_"Hermione, I have to go to that meeting, I'm late as it is, can you walk on your own?" Anthony asked.___

_Draco leered at the man and said, "She can't walk, you bloody fool, since she can't even stand!"___

_"Go, Anthony," she said. She looked away from him. ___

_"I'm sorry I was angry," he said to her, "It's just I had thought it was all decided, that's all. I don't like you going against me on these types of things."___

_"Well, I have my own mind and my own agenda, and you should know that by now, Anthony. Go, Draco will help me," she said. Anthony just stood there for a moment, while Draco puffed out his chest, with indignation. She said again, "Just go." She looked at the wall. He looked at Draco, and then he ran back up the stairs.___

_"What were you two arguing about, before you fell?" Draco asked her, his arm going around her, and his hand on her elbow.___

_"Just the vote for the law. He was upset that I did some last minute campaigning, which apparently worked, mind you. I don't think he wanted this law passed. I mean, I know he didn't want it passed, at least not yet, and I'm not sure why," she said.___

_"Maybe he was angry that you defied him and he pushed you down the stairs," Draco laughed.___

_"Of course he didn't," Hermione said, shocked. "Why are you always around? Sometimes I think you are stalking me. Don't you have a job, somewhere?"___

_"Hey, be thankful I'm here, and holding you up, or you would probably topple right over," he said.___

_She sighed. "Help me sit down." He helped her to sit on the stairs, her feet on the landing.___

_He stood over her as she held her wrist. She laid her wrist in her lap, and pulled up her pretty dress. She looked at her knee. It was swollen and puffy. She frowned.___

_Draco leaned over and put his hand lightly on her knee. Actually, he just wanted to touch her, but he could do it under the ruse of examining her knee, even though he did not know what in the world was wrong with it. As he put his second hand on her knee, one underneath, one to the side, she said, "What do you think?"___

_"Hey, Granger, I'm a businessman, not a healer, how the hell would I know?"___

_"Well, you are examining it," she reasoned.___

_He looked at her face, as she looked right in his eyes, and he had to laugh. He said, "I just wanted an excuse to feel you up, I don't know what is wrong with you." The hand on the top of her leg traveled further up her thigh.___

_She hit both his hands away and said, "You are despicable.___

_"You are clumsy," he countered.___

_"You are an arrogant prat," she said.___

_"You are red faced and ugly when you are angry," he said.___

_"What?"___

_"Oh, sorry, time to tell a lie, I mean, you are beautiful when you are angry," he said with a smile.___

_"Get out of here," she pointed toward the door at the landing.___

_"What about you? I am trying to be chivalrous here. You need my assistance, in which I think I may start charging you, since I always have to come to your rescue," he said. He sat beside her. "Really, do you want me to be your white knight, lift you up, and carry you to safety? Take you back to St Mungos? They already saw you once today; they might as well see you again? They are probably holding your bed for you. Shall I help you?"___

_"No, because that would denote that I need you, and I don't," she concluded.___

_"Fine, walk toward the door, I dare you," he said. He leaned back on the steps and actually put his arms behind his head, as if he was relaxing on the beach or something.___

_She was at a loss on how even to stand, since her wrist hurt, and she could not push off the stairs. She looked at the banister, and she decided to pull herself up, so she took her good hand, and wrapped it around the banister. She pulled herself to stand, wincing only once. She looked back at him. He now had his arms beside him, but he was still smiling.___

_"Walk to the door," he urged.___

_She tried to take a step, and faltered. She tried once more, and cried out in pain.___

_"You are helpless, Granger. You need a 24 hour guard on you, that's what you need," he said. He stood up and came beside her. He said, "Since your new little law is costing me so much money, I think I really will start charging you for my services. Give me a galleon, and I will help you to Hospital."___

_"I can apparate or disapparate!" she said.___

_"Not from inside the Ministry, stupid," he said as he hit her upside the head. She gave him a death glare. "How do you intend to get outside, or to the floos?"___

_"I'll crawl if I have to, but I'm not paying you to help me," she said.___

_"I will walk beside you and point at you and tell everyone to look at you crawling on the floor," he said.___

_"Will you tell everyone that it is where I belong?" she asked smartly.___

_"I might," he said, now angry. He was having a nice, teasing, exchange with her, but she always took it too far, and took too much offense, which usually resulted in him saying mean things to counter her mean things. ___

_She really didn't know what to do, he could tell. She looked back up at him and said, "Fine, will you help me?"___

_"I don't think so, you aren't very nice sometimes, and I don't want to play with you today," he said. He was really going to walk out the door and then walk right back in, but then she had to go say that awful thing in which she had not said in such a long time.___

_"I hate you, Malfoy! Why are you such a bastard all the time?" she stated.___

_"It's easy to be a bastard to a bitch, Granger," he said as he turned to look at her.___

_He turned back to really walk away this time, let her crawl, when he heard her say, "I apologize, will you help me please?"___

_He stood with his back to her, turned slowly, cupped his ear with his hand, and said, "First, you must repeat that phrase, loud and clear, right here in my ear, so I can hear it clearly."___

_He walked up to where she stood against the wall, and practically pressed his hard body into her soft one, propping her up against the wall with his frame. She felt waves of excitement pass through her and she outwardly shivered. He licked his bottom lip. She thought he looked ready to eat her or something. She said, "Why must I repeat it?"___

_He put both of his hands under her arms, to support her weight, his thumbs dangerously close to her breasts. He looked down at her lips as she sucked on the bottom one. He wanted to suck on it, too. He leaned his head in, wanting to kiss her, but instead, with his nose next to hers, he said, "Repeat it or I shall let you go."___

_"Fine, I hate you Malfoy," she said softly.___

_He had to chuckle. He rubbed his nose over her cheek, slowly, deliberately, so that he could feel her shiver again. It worked. He put his lips to her ears and said, "First, you don't really hate me. Second, I know I don't hate you, and third, I wanted you to repeat the apology." He said it all softly, sending waves of 'something' through her. He put his mouth right next to hers and said, "Well?"___

_She was breathing hard. The position of his chest next to hers caused him to 'feel' each rise and fall of her chest. He was going to die, and it would be a painful death, if the witch did not kiss him soon. He could stop his premature death by taking the initiative and kiss her instead. He was about to do that when she finally said, "Sorry Malfoy." His mouth went softly, timidly, on top of hers as the word 'Malfoy' came out of her mouth like a strangled sob. He let his mouth stay on hers, and he kissed her so softly, even he thought he imagined it.___

_He looked up at her, and she looked confused, shocked, but not altogether angry. He too was breathing hard now, and their heaving chests were heaving together, simpatico, almost as one.___

_"What do you want from me? An engraved invitation?" she asked. "Please help me."___

_He blinked once slowly, and made to move away from her. His hands still under her arms. "St Mungos?"___

_"My house," she said.___

_Lord, it sounded like an engraved invitation to him, but probably not for what he wanted. He still liked the sound of that. "Let's go, then." He smiled and said, "You do the apparating, I'll do the holding."_

Present Day:

As soon as Hermione got home from the meet and greet, she made herself a bowl of canned soup. As she ate her soup and crackers, alone, at her table, she thought over all that she had been through in the past with Draco. She had always looked forward to him 'popping' up without warning. She liked being surprised by him. She realized for the first time that she had begun to expect seeing him, even before her declaration of love back to him. Each time they had seen each other, especially in the last year, he had grown more and more daring, a touch here, a caress here, an embrace, a look, sometimes even a kiss. She had come to expect the unexpected from him. And she missed that. She missed it right now.

Her soup grew cold as she sat and pondered these things. There were all kinds of food tonight at the meet and greet, but she was weary of eating anything with Anthony around, less he poison her or something. Even though she was hungry, she pushed her soup away. She did not want soup. She wanted Draco. Damn that Anthony Goldstein. Perhaps if she were elected Minister, her first order of business would to be sure that all wizards with the name Anthony Lewis Goldstein was sentenced to ten years drinking poisoned tea and dating women for eight years without giving them a ring. "What?" she said aloud. That last part did not make sense, and wouldn't really be much of a punishment.

She knew what would be a good punishment, she would turn all wizards named the aforementioned name into rotting carcasses, and then she would let the buzzards get them.

Wait a minute. That one was morose, but still, he was killing Percy! Slowly and surely! Maybe she would make sure he was turned into a rat, like she did with Blaise, and then put a piece of cheese right out of reach, hanging on a string, where his little rat arms and little rat mouth, and little rat legs, could never reach it!  
Hermione found herself giggling. She went over to her cupboard and grabbed a bottle of wine. She might as well toast her new little edict, which she would make into a law as soon as she was elected. If Draco was the one elected, he could figure out his own punishment for Anthony. It would probably be good as well.

She poured herself some wine, forgoing a wine goblet for a tumbler, and she grabbed her crackers and went to her couch. She put the glass of wine in the air and she said, "Here's to you, Anthony, may your whiskers grow long and your tail be chopped off with a butcher's knife."

She took a big drink. Then another. She turned on her telly, and drank some more. She went and got the whole bottle. She might just get drunk, that might be fun. She had never been drunk before, and if she could not drink in honour of the 'rat' Anthony Goldstein, she would drink over the fact that she couldn't see Draco right now.

After the bottle of wine was gone, she felt so very tired. She drank the whole thing in an hour, on an empty stomach, with nothing to eat but a few crackers. She felt a wee bit sick. There was a knock on her door. If it were Anthony Goldstein, she would turn him into the rat right now, and pass the law later.

She tried to stand, but she fell on her knees. She rolled over to her back. If this was what it felt like to be pissed, she didn't really know what all the fuss was about, because she thought it was an awful feeling. She called out, "Who the bloody hell is it?"

"Granger?"

"Malfoy?" she asked. "Oh, Malfoy, I love you so much," she called out to him.

"Granger, are you okay in there?" he asked.

"I fell down and I can't get up, but I still love you," she said.

"Did you hurt yourself?" he shouted.

"I don't think so," she answered.

"Why can't you get up?" he asked.

"Wait, maybe I can, let me try," she said. She rolled over to her knees and crawled to the door on her hands and knees. She reached up and opened the door, and then rolled back on her back. He stepped over the threshold and tried very hard to contain his smile. He shut her door and leaned over her, his hair falling forward.

"Hi, there," he said.

"Hello," she said back.

He laughed and said, "Are you drunk?"

"Define drunk," she asked.

"I think rolling around on the floor defines drunk, but fine, how many fingers am I holding up?" he asked. He put his hand up, and put two fingers up, then three, then one, the three, then two again.

How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, holding up two fingers in a rude gesture.

"You're not that pissed," he concluded. He walked over her body and saw the empty wine bottle. "Granger!" he scolded. "The least you could have done is pick a good year. Really, what's the purpose of getting sloshed on a cheap bottle of wine?" He walked back over to her and said, "Shall I help you up?"

"I'm not sure, answer me this," she said, "Is the room spinning up there, too?"

"No, is it spinning down there?" he laughed.

"A weeeeeeeeee bit," she said, exaggerating the 'e' in the word.

He went down to his knees, and put his hands under her arms. He lifted her up so that she was standing. She leaned her whole body against his. "Why are you drinking by yourself?" he finally asked, still holding her upright.

"Because I can't be with you, speaking of, why are you here? Anthony might have us watched you know, you should leave," she said. "Did you know that I was going to have Anthony turned into a rat?" She put her hand in his hair and said, "I wish I had your hair."

"I like your hair," he said, as his hand went to hers.

"You have a hair fetish, don't you?" she smiled.

"I might," he smiled, amused by her antics. He liked a pissed Granger. She was ever so much more fun. He helped her over to the couch. She fell down on it, on her stomach. He actually looked at her for a moment and scratched his head. He knew she had a point, he really shouldn't dawdle here, but he couldn't leave her like this. It was too reminiscent of the time last year when he brought her home after she fell down the stairs. She wasn't drunk that day, but she had taken too many painkillers, and was certainly out of it that night as well. He sat beside her legs and patted her bottom. He leaned down and said in her ear, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Make love to me?" she said.

"You want me to take advantage of you while you are pissed?" he asked.

"If you must," she said. Her eyes were closed. He stroked her hair for a moment, and then he turned her over on the couch. He stood up and picked her up, bridal style, and carried her to her room. He accidentally hit her head on the door jam of her bedroom as he crossed into the room.

He made a wincing noise, with a sharp intake of breath, as she cried out. "Gee, I'm sorry," he hissed.

"Ouch, my head!" Her hand went to her hair.

"Really, I am sorry, I would have thought all that hair would cushion it somehow," he joked. He threw her on her bed, and removed her shoes. He came up to her head, and pulled on her arms until her head was on the pillows. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. He said, "Sorry about the bump. I can't stay; I just wanted to check on you. I have to go, we can't be seen together."

"Who will see us, in my house?" she asked.

He thought she had a point, but Potter made it clear to both of them that for their plan to work, they had to go under the pretense that they were no longer a couple. He touched her forehead and said, "I have to go, Hermione." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. He said, "Can I disapparate from your house, yet?" He really couldn't remember if she had changed her wards to allow him access yet, or not. He would try it. He disapparated fine. He went straight to his house, and went to bed.

_Flashback:_

_Hermione apparated her and Draco right to her house. Her knee and wrist hurt terribly. He helped her to her couch. He went to her kitchen and got some ice. He came back in the living room, ice wrapped in a towel and he said, "Wrist or knee?"___

_"Knee, I suppose," she said. Hermione put her leg up on the coffee table, and he placed the icepack on her knee.___

_"Do you want me to say a healing spell for your injuries?" he asked.___

_"Are you very good at them, because I happen to know if you aren't, you can do more harm than good, that's why healers have to go to school for four years, Malfoy," she lectured.___

_"I've never done the type needed for your injuries, so maybe I better not," he said. He sat beside her, as she still cradled her wrist in her good hand. He said, "Seriously, did Goldstein push you or something?"___

_"I really thought for a second that he did, but in anger," she said.___

_"No shite, in anger," he said, angrily. He would kill that bastard!___

_"No, I mean, he pushed me, but he had no clue I would fall down the last few steps I was on, I know that for sure, Anthony is a lot of things, but he would never purposely hurt anyone," she said. She put her head back on the cushions of her couch and said, "In my kitchen cabinet, above the stove, I have some Panadol, will you get me some?"___

_"What are Panadols?" he asked, seriously.___

_She looked at him and said, "Pills, Malfoy. In a brown bottle, they are white, elongated pills. They might be the off brand, so the bottle might just say paracetamol, and not say Panadol at all. Get me two of them and some water, please, and then you can go if you'd like."___

_He went off to her kitchen; saw many brown bottles, none that clearly said, "Painkillers" or "Panadol". He couldn't remember that Greek sounding name she said, 'para something mol', so he looked at each bottles that was in her cabinet. He found some that were white and long, and he saw the word 'Panadol', so these must be them. He took three out, thinking if two were good, three would be better, and he took them to her.___

_He handed her the pills, and the glass of water. She looked at the pills strangely, and said, "Are you sure these were the Panadols?"___

_"Yes, pretty sure," he answered.___

_"Well, I shouldn't take three," she said. She put one down on the table, popped the other two in her mouth, and took a big gulp of water. The icepack fell off her knee, and she leaned over to pick it up from the floor. She said, "Before you go, will you go get me the bottle of Panadols? I will put this third pill back in the bottle, and then keep them out here in case I need them later."___

_He nodded, went, and got the pills. He handed her the bottle. Her eyes opened wide. "These are what you gave me?" she yelled.___

_"Well, yes," he said.___

_"Can you read!?!" she bellowed.___

_"Usually," he said sarcastically.___

_"Tell me what this bottle says, then!" she said, handing him the bottle. ___

_He looked at the bottle and said, "It says Panadol with Codeine." He handed the bottle back to her.___

_She took a deep breath and asked, "So where on this bottle does it say paracetamol? This is not just Panadol! This is a narcotic; it clearly says Panadol with Codeine! I had this left over from when I had my wisdom teeth removed! It's a painkiller, but you're only supposed to take one tablet every 12 hours! My goodness, I almost took three! Talk about Anthony trying to kill me! Hand me my purse, I need to call my Dad and make sure I will be okay taking two of these!"___

_"You mean you might die?" he asked, more concerned than he had ever been.___

_"I doubt if I might die from two, but I will probably be loopy, extremely tired, and unable to take care of myself starting in about 15 minutes," she said. He handed her purse to her and she called her father with her mobile phone. He stood over her, and paced back and forth, waiting to hear what the outcome would be.___

_My god, he might have poisoned the woman he loved!_

Chapter End Notes:

(Poll results: 297 individual votes: Hermione has 50 percent of the vote, and Draco has 49 percent.)


	32. Chapter 31

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 31 –**

_Flashback:___

_"Okay, so my dad said I should be okay. He told me to change into comfortable clothes, and go to bed, because I will probably be very sleepy. He also told me to eat something, so I won't feel sick to my stomach," Hermione said.___

_"Do you feel okay so far?" Draco asked.___

_"I think so, at least my wrist and knee don't hurt as much," she said. "Will you get a hold of Harry or Ron and see if one of them can come over and be with me? I need to go to my bedroom and change my clothes," she said, standing.___

_"I'll help you to your bedroom," he said.___

_"You don't need to know where my bedroom is, thank you," she said. She stood up, wobbled a little, (either from her knee or the painkillers), and she walked down her hall. Draco went to the floo to try to get a hold of Potter or Weasel, and then he had a thought. A perfectly dastardly thought. Why not tell her that he could not get a hold of her friends? That way, he could stay and take care of her. She would see how much she needed him. Maybe under the influence she might even tell him she loved him again. Draco loved being devious. It was almost second nature to him, like riding a broom, being devious just came naturally.___

_She came out of her bedroom in a black short sleeve t-shirt, red striped shorts, and white socks. Her hair was pulled back, in a messy ponytail, she was still hobbling along, and he never thought she looked prettier.___

_"I can't get a hold of Potter or Weasel," he lied.___

_"My Dad said he would come over if I couldn't get a hold of my friends, but I hate to do that, tonight is poker night with his friends, and my mum and her friends always go out to dinner on poker night," she said. She sat down on the end of the couch. She put her head on the sofa arm.___

_"I have a suggestion, but you aren't going to like it," he started.___

_"What is it?' she asked.___

_"I could stay, just to make sure you are okay, since it's my fault, and all," he said, sitting next to her.___

_She looked at him wearily for a moment and then said, "You didn't drug me on purpose, did you, so that you could stay?"___

_"Granger, what do you think of me?" he asked, with fake shock.___

_"I think you would drug me on purpose, or else I wouldn't have asked that question!" she said.___

_"Well, I've never been so insulted," he laughed.___

_"Oh, come on, you've been more insulted by me, and probably today," she said. Then, she yawned.___

_"Tired?" he said.___

_"Huh?" she inquired.___

_"Nothing, do you want me to get you something to eat?" he asked.___

_"An apple would be nice," she said. He started into the kitchen, "Peeled, please," she said. He nodded and walked to the hall. "Quartered," she yelled out. He poked his head back in the room, stared at her for a moment, and then nodded again. "And it would be nice if you would melt some caramel for me to dip it in, if you don't mind."___

_He stormed back in the room and said, "Do you want me to chew it for you, too?"___

_"No, thanks, that would be applesauce," she said, perfectly serious.___

_He shook his head and walked back in the kitchen. He didn't know taking care of her was going to be so much work! Fifteen minutes later, he came back with her apple, peeled and quartered, and some melted caramel in a small cup on the side. He also had a clothe napkin, and a glass of milk. He put the apple down on the coffee table, she reached for a slice of apple, and she knocked the glass of milk over.___

_"Oops," she said.___

_"Oops?" he repeated. He shook his head again, took his wand, and siphoned up all the milk. He took the empty glass to the kitchen, and re-filled it, and came back in the room. She was in the same spot on the couch, with a slice of apple in her hand, caramel dripping off the end, eyes shut, hand with apple suspended across her sofa cushion. He had to laugh. He took the apple slice from her hand. There was a string of caramel on her finger. He put the finger in his mouth and sucked off the caramel, and got an immediate erection. Damn, why did she have to be drugged right now?___

_Hey, maybe he could…no, he was not a pervert, he had to remind himself. He lifted her upper body off the sofa arm and sat down, and placed her completely on his lap. She cuddled up on him, her head on his shoulder, and her arms in her lap. This was not helping his erection, but it felt nice, nonetheless.___

_He rubbed his hand down her bent leg. He stopped at the white socks. Funny thing, wasn't she? White socks. He ran his hand back up her leg, and stopped it on her hip. His hand came up and stroked her hair out of her eyes. He kissed her forehead. She opened her eyes and said, "Draco?"___

_"Yes," he said with his lips still in her hair.___

_"I think I am going to throw up," she said.___

_"Well, now, isn't that a romantic sentiment," he said. He picked her up and said, "Can you show me to your bathroom?"___

_"No," she said.___

_"Why not?" he asked.___

_Then the unthinkable happened. Hermione Granger threw up right on Draco Malfoy's person. While he was standing, holding her in his arm. He was disgusted, to say the least.___

_"OH," she whined, "I am so sorry!"___

_"I am, too," he said. He put her down on the couch and went back toward her kitchen. He came out with some towels, and he cleaned them both up with his wand. He brought out a basin, in case she was sick again. She lay on the couch, seemingly asleep again.___

_He had to admit, this was not turning out as he had hoped. He thought it would be romantic, to take care of her. He did not know it would be disgusting. Maybe he should call Potter. He was probably used to being thrown up on by people.___

_He was about to go to the floo when Hermione called out for him. "Draco, are you still here?"___

_He stood up by the fireplace and looked over at her on the couch. He contemplated for a brief moment not saying a word. Finally, he said, "Are you going to be sick again, because I put a basin by the couch." He wanted to add, 'and I'm going to stay right over here.'___

_She said, "I'm so sorry about that."___

_"Yes, well, so am I," he said, looking down at his now clean shirt. He looked back up at her and she was trying to stand, but forgot that her knee hurt and that she was sleepy, and she fell back down on the couch. He ran over to her and said, "What do you need, Granger?"___

_She opened her eyes and said, "What?"___

_"You needed something," he reminded her.___

_"No, I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate that you are being so, so, oh, what's the word?" she stammered.___

_"Wonderful?" he asked.___

_"No, I don't think that's what I wanted to say, but I can't recall now," she said. Hermione shut her eyes again and took a deep breath. "Nice, you are being nice. I don't hate you anymore, either."___

_He raised his eyebrows. It wasn't quite the 'love you' she said to him the last time she was drugged, but it was something. Maybe he could give her that third pill, and she would say she loved him. He stroked her arm up and down, and sat in front of her body, as she lay on the couch. "So, you don't hate me since you said it this afternoon?" he asked.___

_"Oh, goodness, I haven't hated you forever," she said.___

_'Now that was more like it', he thought. He moved her so she was on her back. He took a pillow and put it under her knee. He took a throw from the back of the couch and placed it over her legs. He went to the other end of the sofa and turned her telly to a sporting event. He looked over at her and he placed one hand on her leg, and then went back to watch the television._

Present Day:

Draco showered and was heading to bed when he heard Potter's voice over the floo. He walked to his living room and opened the floo. Harry appeared a moment later. "Draco, I've got some disturbing news," Harry said.

"What?"

"The tea isn't poisoned. It is just tea. They examined all three tins he had, one tin was over six months old, and none of it was poisoned," Harry said. "They did a toxicology scan on the Minister as well, and he is being poisoned, but not from the tea."

"From what then?" Draco asked.

"That's the thing, he had traces of some rare plant, called Orcis Barbadensis, and when the juice from this plant is extracted, it causes all the symptoms Percy has been having, night sweats, leg and hand tremors, ulcers, and neurological symptoms. He's a very sick man, and he is being poisoned, but not from the tea," Harry explained.

"Is this a common plant?" Draco asked, sitting down.

"No, I talked to Neville, and he said that it's extremely rare, and only grows in parts of South America. He said that it is a flowering plant, which is related to the orchid. He said it is so rare, that only botanist and collectors, orchid collectors, even have access to it. It is not a magical plant. I'm still confused as to what this means," Harry concluded.

"Can they do anything for the Minister, to slow the effects, or heal him," Draco asked.

"I don't think they can," Harry said. "We need to tie Anthony to this plant, somehow, since the tea didn't work out. I need to go now, it has been a long day, and I need some sleep. Did you check on Hermione?"

"Yes, she got totally wasted, on cheap wine, by the way," Draco asked.

"That's not like her, maybe I should check on her before I leave," Harry said.

"I put her to bed, she was fine," Draco said.

"Fine, see you tomorrow," Harry said and he left.

What a weird turn of events. What if the tea had nothing to do with anything? That meant Draco made a fool of himself to Goldstein for nothing with all that 'tea talk'. He decided to go back and check on Granger before he went to bed.

_Flashback:_

_Hermione had been sleeping soundly on her couch for a couple of hours. Draco was tired, too. He turned off her telly, and then he found her bathroom, did some required maintenance, and then came back out to the living room. It was after 2 am. He really needed some sleep. She would probably be okay now, and sleep the rest of the night. He could probably go. He sat on the corner of her coffee table, which was actually on old trunk. He put his hand on the base of her throat, and he felt her pulse. His hand went to her mass of hair, and massaged the curls. Lord, he loved her so much that it hurt. He knew he was dragging this out unnecessarily, but he knew that she had feelings for him, no matter how much she denied it; however, there was a small part of him that was afraid if he told her sincerely how he felt, she just might tell him to jump off a bridge. He could not risk that, so he would continue to take it slow. Someday, she had to admit at least to herself that she loved him, too.___

_He put his mouth on her neck, and kissed it, lingering for a moment. At times like this, she seemed vulnerable, lost, and easily broken. He straightened the cover over her legs, as she lay curled up on her side on the end of the sofa.___

_He let his hand travel lightly down her spine, as she lay on her side. He said, "Hermione, wake up, please."___

_She opened her eyes.___

_"Do you think you can manage now, because I should be off, I have a meeting tomorrow at 9 am," he said. As his hand began its trek back up her spine, it became hung up on the hem of her t-shirt, and instead of going back up over the shirt; his hand went under the shirt. Instead of telling her goodbye, he wanted to stay right where he was forever. She looked up at him, with eyes almost closed, and her hand came up to his face.___

_She said, "Please stay."___

_Damn, he wanted to stay, but he wanted her more, and if he stayed, he wasn't sure that he wouldn't take advantage of the situation. Just having her in his sight made all his muscles hard with want. The touch of her, the smell of her, and the heat rising from her body to his, made it too much to bear. His body tightened more; his erection grew harder, when she turned to her back. His hand was still on her back, so when she turned, it went naturally to her side, and was now on the bare skin of her stomach. He could see the hard points of her nipples, and the outline of her full breasts against her shirt.___

_He leaned down and planted feathery kisses across her jaw line, and stopped at her mouth, where he said, "This is a dream, Hermione, I already went home."___

_"It is?" she said, almost sadly.___

_"Yes it is. And, I'm not sure I can come back here again, not until you decide what you feel for me, okay?" He placed both hands on her face and kissed her forehead.___

_"Not even in a dream, like this?" she asked.___

_"No, I'm sorry, but not even in a dream, like this," he said. He stood up and left her house immediately. He went home and took a cold shower. After he dried off, he decided something. He was going to stop tormenting himself. If she didn't want him, then he was going to learn to live with that. If she did want him, than more power to her. Then again, he would likely change his mind in the morning._

Present Day:

Draco apparated back to Hermione's house. He knew that Potter had changed the wards, so he wasn't sure he would be able to enter. He tiptoed to her room. She wasn't there. He started out of her room, when he heard her heaving in the bathroom. Great, she was sick.

He could always silently leave, and she would never know he had been there. He debated on what to do when he heard her flush the commode. He walked up to the bathroom door, which wasn't closed all the way. He pushed it open, and saw her lying on her floor, in a ball, hair everywhere.

"You aren't up to snuff, Granger?" he asked.

She looked up. "Please, if I ever decide to get drunk again, please, please, curse me or hex me or something." Her voice cracked as she spoke. She put her head back down on the floor. She said, "What are you doing back here?"

"I wanted to check on you again. Don't worry; No one knows I'm here." He stooped down and was going to pick her up when he decided to ask, "Are you done being sick?"

"Probably not," she complained.

He sat down beside her, put her head in his lap, and stroked her hair. "So, your big tea theory was a big fat nothing," he told her. "Potter told me they tested the tea and nothing. See, you could have gone to sleep after sex, instead of running out of the room shouting, 'the tea, the tea!', and I might not have been knocked on my arse on the floor, too."

"Yeah, sorry about that," she said. Her hand went to his leg and she rubbed it up and down. "Do they know if he is really being poisoned, though?"

"Yes, by an extract from some rare plant, some flower, a cousin to the orchid or something," he said.

"How odd," she said. "What's on your agenda tomorrow?"

"I have an interview for the wireless service at 10:00 am, and then I have to pose for some pictures for a magazine at 1pm. Apparently they are doing a story on powerful bachelors," he grinned.

She looked up at him and said, "You might land a wife if you do that one, Malfoy."

"One can only hope," he laughed. "What about you?"

"Well, my staff and I have a meeting at 9:00 am; I have a meeting with Percy at 11:00 am, and an interview with a reporter at 3:00 pm. Oh, and at 1pm I am posing for some pictures for a magazine that is doing a story on powerful single woman."

"The same magazine, I take it?" he asked.

"Undoubtedly so," she sighed. "We will have to act all hateful to each other tomorrow. Go back to hating each other, despising the other."

"The price we pay for love, I suppose," he laughed.

She looked up at him and frowned. "The price we pay for love is to act like we hate each other? You are a nut." She put her head back on his leg. "Malfoy, I'm going to be sick again, and I really don't want to throw up on you, so you should leave."

"Heaven help me if you would ever throw up on me, I probably would never forgive you, or something," he said, as he helped her crawl to the toilet. She must not remember that she had thrown up on him last year. Oh well, some secrets are best kept secrets.

"Really, you can go," she said, breathlessly, her arm hugging the toilet.

"I thought boyfriends held their girlfriends hair when they were sick," he asked.

"Are you my boyfriend?" she asked, seriously.

"Vomit and find out," he laughed at her.

And that's what she did.

_**Chapter End Notes:**_

_Author's Note: Short chapter, only 3200 words. I know, but they all can't be long. I will make it up to you all with a nice little love scene in the next chapter, okay? Maybe Percy and Blaise? HA! Okay, fine, Hermione and Harry. I mean, Hermione and Draco. (I just wanted to be sure that you were all paying attention! I know no one reads these end notes.) I've decided this little story will be 40 chapters. Now, I know those of you who read my stories a lot, know how I will say something like that, and then change my mind, but I am determined this time. 40 chapters, no more, no less. So, nine more to go. The flash back scenes are almost to the present time, anyway. Poll results: still 50 percent for Hermione and 49 for Draco, with 13 new votes. Hermione is ahead by three votes _


	33. Chapter 32

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 32-**

Present Day:

Hermione was already at the magazine, getting her makeup done, when Draco came sauntering in fifteen minutes late. He saw her reflection in the mirror, she looked up at him quickly, and he winked just as quick, and then announced to the world that he was there.

He left her house early in the morning. He would have liked if they could have had some early morning loving, but she was still a bit peaked when they woke up, so he kissed her cheek and told her he would see her soon.

The election was less than two weeks away. In two weeks, one of them would be the new Minister of Magic. While Hermione was having herself pampered for the photo shoot, she thought about that and almost quivered. It did not seem real. She was still torn. She wanted to do a good job and make a difference, but she did not really like the idea of being the Minister. She looked at the polls just that morning and he was now leading by a one-point margin. She knew there was still a chance he might win. She looked over at him as a beautiful girl, or was it a boy, oh, it was a boy, anyway, she looked over at him while a beautiful boy started to mess with his hair and she began to wonder if he would make a good Minister of Magic, and she came up with only one answer: Yes, yes he would.

The magazine's editor came up to Hermione, smiled and shook her hand. He was very good-looking, very posh, with long hair and stylish clothes. Hermione wondered if he was gay, only because he seemed 'too' good-looking. Her question was answered for her when the girl who was doing her hair said, "Isn't he a doll? We all love him, and he's single, too." He went over and shook Draco's hand next. Once Hermione's hair and makeup was done, they took her to wardrobe.

"What's wrong with what I have on?" she asked.

"Nothing, but we have some things picked out for you," the stylist said.

"Go on, Granger, let them dress you up, you might look half presentable for a change. Don't you want to know what expensive clothes feel like?" Draco asked.

She was angry for one moment, and then she realized he was 'in character'. She spat, "Well excuse me if I have more important things to do with my money besides buying clothes."

"Clothes make the man," he said, pointing to his outfit.

The stylist said, "We have clothes for you too, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco frowned and Hermione snickered. "Your clothes must make you look cheap or something, if they want you to change," she said. She went behind a screen and changed to a stylish, tight fitting, black skirt, high black pumps, black stockings, and a red shirt underneath a black tight jacket. The blouse came down almost to her navel. She felt uncomfortable. She could not even wear a bra under it.

They put Draco in a dark charcoal grey suit with a red tie. Someone remarked that they would look good together in their pictures. Hermione looked shocked and said, "We are going to be in the pictures together?"

"Well, yes, I thought you understood that," the editor, Bruce Donley, said.

Draco said, "Don't worry, Granger, they can fix pictures nowadays, so you will be almost as pretty as me."

She frowned again and Bruce said, "I think she's rather pretty like she is." That made Draco frown.

The photographer had them pose next to each other. Since they were wizarding pictures, and would be moving, he asked them to move back and forth. "Act like you hate each other for the first pictures, which considering your past history, I think will not be on problem," the photographer said.

Hermione looked at Draco with forged condescension, put up her hand, and turned away, as is he smelled bad or something. He smirked at her, crossed his arms, and turned away from her. She turned back toward him and held up her fist, as if she was going to hit him. He had to laugh.

"Mr. Malfoy, if she was really going to hit you, would you laugh?" the photographer asked, as he stopped taking pictures.

"Actually, no, she hit me once when we were young, and it hurt like hell," Draco reminisced. "Go on Granger, give it to me good, and actually connect with my jaw."

"I don't want to hurt you, Malfoy," she laughed back.

"The day you hurt me is the day I turn into Harry Potter's biggest fan, go on now," he urged.

She smiled, pulled back and hit him. She actually touched him slightly, although it was mostly for show. He still threw his head back as if it hurt. The photographer screamed out, "That was great, more like that."

Soon, they were having fun pretending to hate each other, pretending to hit the other, strangle and pinch. He shook her, and she pulled his hair. After a few more of these, the editor whispered something in the photographer's ear.

Bruce Donley said, "Miss Granger, would you mind taking off your jacket?"

She thought for a moment. The shirt was very low cut, and though it draped in the front, she was afraid without a bra on it might show too much. She said, "I don't think I should do that."

"Ashamed, Granger?" Draco asked. He had not seen her shirt without a jacket, so he had no idea why she refused.

She glared at him, and then took off the jacket. Draco frowned more than he did earlier. He said, "Put the damn thing back on," without thinking.

The editor said, "I think you look sexy, leave it off."

Draco gave the man a dirty look and stepped in front of her and said, "She's a candidate for Minister for Magic, not some pin up girl." He turned back and said, "That shirt is indecent and you SHOULD be ashamed!"

"Ashamed?" she asked. She looked down at herself.

"You know what I mean," he said softly.

She pushed him aside and said, "Take the picture."

The photographer asked Draco to take off his jacket, and then he asked Hermione to pull on Draco's tie. They posed like that for a few frames, Draco still frowning, which made the pictures seem more like they did not like each other. She pulled on his tie some more, and placed her body in front of his, and looked over her shoulder at him. The photographer loved that one.

The editor whispered in the photographer's ear again. Draco said, "I don't like when he does that."

The photographer said, "We have some props, would you mind using them?"

Hermione thought for a moment, and then wearily she said, "What kinds of props?"

One of the assistants came out from the back with a box. There were whips, chains, handcuffs and the like. "NO bloody way!" Draco said.

Hermione laughed and put her jacket back on. "I don't think so."

"Then can we get some single shots before you leave. We can start with Mr. Malfoy." Draco stayed to have his picture taken alone as Hermione went to sit down. That Bruce fellow went up to talk to her. He made her laugh. He touched her knee! Draco was livid.

"Mr. Malfoy, you aren't supposed to look angry in these shots," the photographer reminded him.

Draco shouted, "That's enough pictures. Granger's turn." Hermione stood up from her chair and went to have some single shots taken. She was much more apprehensive, being by herself. She licked her lips, nervously, but Draco and every man in the room, expect for the pretty makeup boy, thought she looked seductive as she did that simple gesture.

She still had her jacket off. She posed in a leather armchair. The photographer walked up to her and asked her to place her legs over the arm of the chair. As she did so, she licked her lips again.

"Stop licking your damn lips!" Draco shouted.

"Why are you still here?" she asked.

"Fine, that's enough of her, too," Draco said. He walked between the photographer and Hermione. He said, "You shouldn't take more of her than you did of me. It's in my contact, I think." It was not, he was making that up, but he wanted them to stop taking pictures of her, unless he was going to get all the copies.

She went behind the screen to change, as Draco did the same behind another screen. The editor walked up to the screen, as Hermione was changing, and said, "Miss Granger, its Bruce."

"Oh, Bruce, please call me Hermione," she said.

Draco mocked her, 'call me Hermione' he said quietly in a high voice.

"I was wondering if you have plans tonight, for dinner?" the man asked.

Hermione stepped around the screen as Draco did. She said, "Thanks, but I think I have plans with my boyfriend."

"Oh, I thought you and Anthony Goldstein were no longer dating," he said.

She smiled and said, "We aren't, but a girl has to have some secrets, right? Thank you, though."

"So you are saying that we shouldn't mention in the article that you are dating anyone?" he asked slyly.

She said, "Oh, just say that I am in love, and I have been for a very long time."

Draco bent his head and smiled. The man said, "So that really was gossip about you and him?" and he pointed to Draco.

Before Hermione could say anything, he walked up to the man and said, "Goodness man, she said she's been in love forever. You hardly think she means me, do you?" He gave the man a nasty look, and he apologized to Draco. Draco turned back to her and smiled. She blushed and turned to leave.

She left the building before Draco did. He still had to stay and give an interview. Her interview was before the shoot. He felt all happy and content inside, because she told that man she had a boyfriend, that she was in love, and he knew that she meant him!

_Flashback___

_"Percy, I can't be Minister of Magic!" Hermione said. Harry sat on the couch next to her, and held her hand. He already knew that Percy was going to ask her this.___

_"You are my last hope," Percy said. "I've asked a couple of other people, and they turned me down as well. It will not be like a real election. We will name you my successor, and then have an election, more as a formality."___

_"Are you sure you couldn't just take a sabbatical?" she asked. ___

_"No, I need to step down, for health reasons. The healers do not even really know what's wrong with me, but the headaches are worse than ever. I sweat all night long, my hands shake, I have weakness on my left side, no, I can't keep up with the work load, and Hermione, I've worked too hard to make sure this post is clean with no corruption, so I can't trust this to just anyone."___

_She looked back over at Harry. She looked at Percy and said, "What about Anthony? He's worked for your office almost as long as I have."___

_"Yes, as a Media consultant. He doesn't have the background to be Minister, and anyway, I know you two once dated, but I don't really trust him the way I trust you. Harry turned me down," Percy said, "And so I need you to do this."___

_"Who else did you ask?" Hermione asked him. "You said you asked a couple of people."___

_Percy was quiet for a moment. He actually asked Draco Malfoy, mainly because he knew how Draco felt for Hermione, so he thought he would work well with her, and second, he knew that Draco had worked hard to become respectable, and he thought he had integrity. Nevertheless, Draco turned him down as well. He didn't want Hermione to think she was second choice, or in this case, third choice, so he said, "Really, just Harry."___

_Harry said, "You know I'm not very diplomatic, nor do I think I have the brains for the post."___

_Percy walked up to her and took her hand. "Just do this, to finish out my term, then when the end of the term comes along, they will have a proper election, and by that time, a proper candidate or two might come out of the woodwork, and if you no longer want the post, you won't have to run again."___

_Harry said, "Yes, Hermione, there's only another year to Percy's term. Just do this, for him."___

_Hermione felt backed in the corner. She didn't want someone awful to come in, and she didn't want to lose her job, which was a possibility if she turned Percy down, because she was afraid he might fire her, although she wouldn't tell him her fear. She nodded her consent.___

_Later, Hermione sat in her office talking to Anthony. "I felt backed into a corner."___

_"I suggested you to the Minister," Anthony said. "I think you will do a great job. I will help you all I can. I will work closely with you. That way, I will get some more experience, and in a year, when they hold the regular elections, if you don't want to run again, I can."___

_"I think you underestimate Percy's influence. Just because he is no longer in office, doesn't mean he won't still have a lot of clout to influence things," Hermione said. She hoped Anthony would understand what she was getting at, because she knew Percy didn't like Anthony, and she didn't want Anthony to get his hopes up.___

_"Maybe he won't be around in a year, if he's really that sick," Anthony said, distractedly, as he signed some documents.___

_"Anthony Goldstein, what a horrible thing to say!" Hermione said. "Get out of my office and go to your own, I have work to do."___

_"I have a meeting anyway," Anthony said. He had a meeting with Draco Malfoy. He wanted to try to convince the man to petition for the right to run in the special election.___

_Hermione left the Ministry exhausted that night. She was walking to a restaurant, to pick up her take out food, when she saw Draco sitting in a corner booth. She wondered if he was meeting someone. She hadn't seen him for a couple of weeks. It seemed he was no longer stalking her. She told the hostess she was there to pick up take out, and then she walked over to his booth.___

_"Hello, Draco," she said.___

_He looked up, shocked to see her. "Well, Granger, how are you? No lasting effects from the little medicine mix up, I take it?"___

_"No, I seem to be fine. Wrist and knee are fine, too." She looked down and saw that there was a place setting, abandoned, across from him. He had apparently met someone. She didn't know why that thought discomforted her so much.___

_The hostess brought her dinner over to her. Hermione gave her some money. She said, "Well, I should be going. Thanks again, Draco, for helping me the other week, when I was drugged." She laughed and waved. ___

_As her back was turned to him he said, "That's twice now."___

_She turned back to him. "Twice?"___

_"Yes, twice," he repeated.___

_She thought hard for a moment and said, "Twice that you've helped me?"___

_"Heavens, Granger, I lost count how many times I've helped you. No, I mean twice, since you walked in this restaurant and approached me, that you've called me Draco instead of Malfoy, even though I've only called you Granger," he reasoned. "Twice." He held up two fingers.___

_"Oh," she said, somewhat confused. "Ah, sorry?" she said, wondering if he wanted an apology.___

_He laughed, stood up and threw a wad of bills on the table. He said, "You don't need to apologize, you funny thing. You are so imperceptive sometimes. I like that you call me Draco."___

_"I'll remember that," she said.___

_"What, and call me Malfoy from now on, instead, because heaven knows you don't want to do something that I like," he said. He held open the door for her.___

_She frowned, because she didn't know if he was joking with her or not. She said, "Well, goodbye….Draco." She almost said Malfoy, more out of habit than maliciousness. She turned to walk away. He watched her for a moment.___

_He had purposely been avoiding her since the night at her house, when he gave her too much medication. It was too hard to be near her, and not grab her and kiss her senseless. He had missed her, and he got an uneasy feeling that perhaps she had missed him as well.___

_He had an interesting dinner just now with her little 'fake' boyfriend, Anthony Goldstein. He told Draco that Percy Weasley was stepping down in a few months, due to illness, and that they were going to hold a special election, with apparently only one candidate, Miss Hermione J. Granger. The thing was, Draco already knew that, because he had already heard the information right from the horse's mouth. Moreover, the horse even already asked him to run, and he turned him down.___

_What he could not figure out was why Anthony Goldstein would want Draco to run against her. It baffled him, but he would find out the reason. He watched her walk away and she turned the corner. He decided, what the hell, he had already seen her now, so he might as well walk her home or something. He really had missed her, after all.___

_He ran to catch up to her, as he turned the corner after her, and he called out, "Granger!" She turned around and waited for him._

Present day

Draco walked up to her office, very judiciously. He was certain no one saw him. He knew that she would still be in the office, even though it was after 7 pm, because she had wasted so much time away from the office today, and that was the type of woman she was.

He knocked on her door, and opened it before she could answer. She was sleeping on the couch in her office. He wanted to laugh. He shut the door, and locked it with magic. He put a concealment charm over the frosted glass window of her door. He took off his jacket and tie. He sat down beside her hips, on the sofa, put his left arm across the back of the sofa, and dragged his right hand down her cheek, to her neck, to her shoulder. He leaned down and kissed her carefully.

She had already removed her shoes and jacket before her nap, and the white blouse she wore hugged her body, emphasizing her breasts and waist almost as seductively as the red blouse she wore at the photo shoot. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, while his hands started to unbutton her blouse.

He did not know she had woken, until he heard her say, "Are you going to make love to me here on the couch in my office?"

"Why not," he asked, looking up at her slyly. "I've dreamt of doing this so many times, you have no idea." He continued to unbutton her blouse, pulling it out of the waistband of her beige skirt. He pushed it apart and kissed her stomach. She jerked slightly.

"Ticklish," she explained.

"Yeah, sure," he said with doubt. He put his head down and kissed her stomach again, and she squirmed under him again. His hand went to one of her bra-covered breast, as his mouth kissed her ample cleavage. He put his mouth over her nipple, still covered by the thin lace of her flesh coloured bra, and he sucked and kissed until he could make out every dimpled on the nipple. He did the same with the other. Her hands were on his shoulders, and his back.

He said, "remove you skirt, please." She unzipped the side, and slipped out of it while remaining on the sofa. He looked down at her in just her knickers and bra, one arm above her head, the other across her stomach, and he thought she looked like a sacrifice, being offered to him, and he had to take it.

Every muscle in her body tightened and clenched as he pulled down her bra, and attached his mouth to her breasts. He thought she had beautiful breasts. In the past, he would often wonder what they felt like and tasted like, and now that he knew, he knew it was better than he had ever imagined, and he would never grow old of her. Never.

His hot mouth was searching and hungry and her breasts ached with need. She felt a throbbing pain deep in her stomach as well, which traveled between her legs. He stood up briefly to remove his clothes. She said, "Are you sure the door is locked."

He kissed her mouth with a hard, soul-searching kiss, and said, "Yes, I'm sure, and I have a favour."

"Anything."

He raised one eyebrow, questioning, and thought, hot damn, he could ask anything, but then he asked his real favour. "Please don't talk during sex this time."

"Did you not cast a silencing charm?" she asked.

He frowned, stood up, picked up his pants from the floor, took his wand from his pocket, and cast a silencing charm. Then he said, "You can scream, yell, call my name, and talk dirty, but please, don't try to have a conversation."

"Deal," she said with a smile.

His hands went down her thighs, to her calves, and back up again. His arousal pressed against her leg as he lay on top of her, to kiss her mouth again. He loved her mouth, so full, so luscious, and so welcoming. He remembered how talented her little mouth was as well, and he wondered if they might get a repeat performance tonight.

He slipped off the couch, on his knees, and he pulled on her arm, so she was sitting. He pulled her hips forward, and bent down, to taste her. Her hips began to move. His hands sought to keep them still. He put both her legs over his shoulders. She was in a most awkward position, and she might have said something about that, if she hadn't promised him she wouldn't talk.

Her moans started deep in her throat. He knew she liked what he was doing. He put a finger and then two inside her, to pump in and out, as his tongue set a quick pace. He licked her long and demanding, wanting to taste every last bit of her. When she started to breath heavy, and her stomach muscles started to flex along with her legs, he knew her orgasm was imminent. He decided to take her to orgasm, completely, and then she could have a second one when he had his. She threw her head back and screamed and he knew she came, but he didn't stop. She even told him to stop, but he didn't. Finally, she pushed on his head. "Stop!"

"No talking!" he snapped. She pushed him back hard, and he landed on his back on the floor. Well, perhaps that little photo shoot today gave her some ideas that she could take control once in a while, and Draco rather liked it, especially when he felt her nice full mouth encompass his bursting length. Her hands went up and down his stomach, as her mouth covered him, went up and down, and her tongue swirled around his tip. She gave him a long lick of her tongue, up one side and down the other. Now his head was thrown back, and he let out a long moan.

His hips jerked and his breathing became erratic. She looked up and his tight abdominal muscles tightened even more. Hermione thought he really did have a beautiful body. She must tell him that sometime, when she was allowed to talk.

She could feel him growing and pulsing against her tongue, and inside the vacuum, which she created with the suction of her mouth. She withdrew his shaft from her mouth slowly, and then put her hand on it, to hold it upward, and she impaled her body down on top. He opened his eyes in surprise, but not an unwelcome surprise.

He gripped her hips hard as she rode him up and down. She looked so carefree and wild with abandonment. His hands went around to cup her bottom, and then went up to pinch her nipples. She cried out and so did he. Each time he touched her nipples, it sent a jolt of electricity down her nipples to her abdomen, and straight to his groin. It was the most delectable feeling either had ever had.

Her soft muscles on his hard muscles were enough to make him come, and as he looked up at her, he knew his release was as hand. He put one hand at her opening, to speed her along to her second coming. Her channel was so tight, and he felt like he was wrapped tightly in her moist, silk, canal, and the mere thought of that sent him over the edge, as he came deep inside her, calling out her name, and bucking his hips wildly.

She continued the torture this time, for she wasn't yet appeased. It took several more rides as she stroked herself on his hard length, for her too to come to a climax. She rode out the tremors sitting upright on his body. He watched as she jerked forward, and then back. She wrapped her arms tight around her own body, and while he remained inside her, she fell over on his chest. He put his arms tight around her back.

"I love you, Hermione."

She heard what he said. It wasn't like he hadn't said it so many time before, but this time, she finally believed him. She crawled off him, removing her leg from across his body and she pressed her body over his. She pulled his jacket over their bodies, and she put her head on his chest.

"I love you, too, Draco." She didn't look at him as she said that, but if she had, she would have seen the biggest, most content smile, that Draco Malfoy had ever had.

He was about to tell her that he loved her again, even though he had just said it, when there was, of course, the ever unromantic, cliff hanger, knock at the door. "Hermione, are you in there, it's me, Anthony."

_**Chapter End Notes**__:_

_(Poll results: Draco in the lead again, at only 50 percent to 49 percent, with eleven new votes. I think I will close the polls, so to speak, a few days from now, and then leave the results as a surprise for the end of the story, since the end is almost near.)_


	34. Chapter 33

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 33 –**

Present Day:

"It's Anthony!" Hermione hissed. She stood up.

"Damn little bugger," Draco said, as he grabbed his wand.

"Hide!" she suggested. She put on her bra and knickers.

"Where?" he asked. He cleaned them both up with his wand.

"I don't care!" she said. She pulled on her skirt.

"Hermione?" Anthony said from the hall.

"Just a minute," she said. She started to button her blouse.

"I can't disapparate inside the Ministry," Draco said. He slipped on his shirt and zipped his trousers.

"HERMIONE!" Anthony exclaimed again.

"Just a moment!" she shouted. "Under the desk!" She pointed under the desk.

"I won't fit!" he complained, as he went to try to hide under the desk.

"It's the only place." She put on her shoes, took her wand, sat at the chair in front of the desk, trapped him in place, and she unlocked the door with magic.

"I hate Goldstein," Malfoy whispered.

Hermione looked under the desk, and then back toward the door as Anthony walked in the office. "Why was the door locked? And what took you so long to answer?" Anthony asked.

"Is this the Spanish inquisition?" she asked.

"Just answer the question," he said with a tone that she did not like one bit.

"Fine, I was sick last night, and I had a long day, so I was trying to take an uninterrupted nap, if you must know," she said. Draco ran his hand up and down her leg. She kicked him hard. Draco yelped in pain and Hermione coughed loudly to cover the sound of his yelp.

"Well, from the sound of that cough, you must still be under the weather, so go on home and get some rest," he said.

"Your days of telling me what to do are over," she said.

"It was a suggestion, not an order," he said. He sat down in the chair on the other side of her desk. Draco put his hand back on her leg, and kissed her knee. She put her hand down under the desk and flicked his forehead hard with her middle finger.

"Why are you here, Anthony?" Hermione asked, apparently perturbed.

"I just wanted to let you know that I am really sorry about you and Malfoy," Anthony said. At that moment, Draco removed Hermione's right shoe and placed her foot on his now growing erection. "It must be hard," Anthony continued.

All she could think about was Draco's erection, so she answered, "Very hard indeed, you have no idea."

"I just know that you had feelings for him for a long time, long before you admitted, and I wish you could be happy with him, but in the long run he would have made you unhappy," Anthony said, fingering a paperweight on her desk.

"Hey!" Draco said, forgetting that he was hiding.

"What?" Anthony looked up suddenly.

"I said, hey, that's neither here nor there, now is it? Anthony, may I ask you a question?" Hermione asked.

"Shoot." He threw the paperweight up in the air and caught it.

"Why did you ask Draco Malfoy to run for office against me?" she asked. He threw the paperweight up in the air again. Hermione was nervous, because that paperweight had sentimental value to her. She said, "Anthony, put the paperweight down and answer my question."

Draco stopped his roaming hands to listen as well.

"Who told you that, Malfoy?" Anthony finally asked.

"No, Blaise did," she said. It was not a total lie. She actually overheard Anthony say as much to Blaise.

"Well, I just thought that you would like some healthy competition, and that you wouldn't want the position just handed to you, I didn't know it would cause the firestorm that it has," he said. He finally put the paperweight down on the desk. She started to reach for it, but he picked it back up and threw it in the air again. "Why does it matter now?"

She said, "It just seems to me that I would have had an easier time of it if I hadn't had someone run against me. You claim you want me to win, and then you do something like that. It doesn't make sense to me, that's all," she said. "Furthermore, what information does Malfoy have over you to make you tell the world you are gay? Why would he want to hurt me with the whole Ron and you thing. He seemed as surprised as the rest of us at seeing you and Ron together."

"Well, it's a disputable point, because the thing he was holding over my head no longer is relevant." Anthony stood up and walked over to the side of her desk. She scooted in closer, all but smashing Draco. He said, "He was blackmailing me, and that's the truth, but you sound like you don't believe it. You don't still have feelings for him, do you?"

"Of course not," she said. Her hand went back under the desk, and reached out for him. He kissed her fingertips.

"Why all the questions? Haven't I proved my loyalty to you over the years? Why question my actions and ethics now?" He reached out and touched her hair. He stroked her hair and put his hand on her shoulder

"Don't touch me, please, Anthony," she said.

Draco was becoming angry. How dare the man touch his girlfriend while he was in the room. He might not see that he was in the room, but he was. Draco tried to push her away from the desk, even if it meant he had to obliviate Goldstein's memory, when she reached under and pinched him on the arm, very hard. That wasn't necessary. Why was she always so abusive?

That was it, he had enough, so while Anthony and Hermione continued to talk, Draco reached into his pocket…if…he…could…just…reach…them…he would…make her...pay! There, he reached them. Hermione's left hand was still under the desk, on top of Draco's head. He took that hand, and she felt something cold and metal clamp down on her wrist. Before she knew what had happened, he had handcuffed her to her chair. He stole them from the photo shoot that day. Thank goodness, Anthony had decided to stand up and walk back around to the front of her at that exact moment. She pulled at the handcuff, but in vain.

"Listen, Hermione, whether you believe me or not, I still care for you, a lot, and I hope that if you still want to win that you do. I will be leaving, now." He bent down, across the desk, and kissed the top of her head. He turned back around quickly, and that was when he saw it. A man's tie on the floor. Hermione's gaze followed his and she knew in that instant that she was busted. Especially when he looked back up at Hermione.

_Flashback___

_Draco Malfoy was walking across the lawn at University. They had been in school for six weeks now. He had switched his major over to Business law that very first day, hoping he would be in some classes with Hermione, but they only had one class together, and she always made sure she was there early, and she always sat far away from him. Ever since that first day, she treated him like a pariah. He didn't care. He had no real feelings for her. Sure, she had been nice to him after the last battle, and that time during the commemoration ceremony at Hogwarts. Nevertheless, that first day in class she made it clear to him that she didn't like him and never would.___

_That did not mean that he did not think she was pretty and that he didn't find her interesting. Still, that did not mean he liked her. The only reason he was even thinking about her right now was that she was right in front of him, talking to someone whom they went to school with a long time ago. Some stupid former Ravenclaw. Draco was not sure of his name, but he thought it was Goldstein.___

_Draco walked up to her right after the man left. She was still smiling. "Granger," he greeted.___

_She looked up and said, "Oh, hello, Malfoy." She began to walk and he followed. She said, "How do you like classes so far?" He shrugged. "That good, huh?" she asked.___

_"They're okay," he said truthfully. "How about you?"___

_"I love it! College is everything I had hoped it would be and more! I love the learning, the atmosphere, the feeling of belonging, the pace, everything. I hope my parent's will let me move to campus next year."___

_"Let you?" Draco said, as he held open the door for her, and they walked into the college bookstore. "You are an adult; can't you do what you want?"___

_"I can, sure, but I spent a whole year away from them, during the war, even though they weren't aware that I was gone, but I don't want to upset them," she said.___

_He had heard that she had modified her parent's memories during the war, to protect them. He thought that was a pretty brave and daring thing for her to do. He understood. He did not say anything in return, so she thought the conversation was over. She walked over and began to look at some of the different books. He said, "Surely you already have all your textbooks."___

_"Of course, but I just thought I might buy some of the books I will need for next year. Go ahead and start reading early," she said.___

_He frowned and said, "That's the craziest thing I have ever heard. Still trying to be the teacher's pet and the resident know it all?' He did not say that to be mean either, he really wondered.___

_Now she frowned. She turned the corner and went down another aisle. He came up to her with a book in his hand. He said, "You might like this one."___

_She took the offered book from his outstretched hand. It was a book about sexual massage. She saw the title and handed it back to him. "I don't think so."___

_"Your boyfriend might like it," he said, trying to give it back to her.___

_She hit the book away. "I don't have a boyfriend, now stop it."___

_He put the book on top of her pile of books in her hand. She took it off and put in back on the shelf. "No boyfriend?" he asked. "I always thought you and Weasel would get together someday."___

_"No, we are just friends," she said.___

_She reached up for a book on the top shelf. She put her pile of books on the floor and stood on top of them. He thought that was quite inventive. However, he pushed her hand aside and asked, "Which book?"___

_She said, "The red one." ___

_He stood right behind her, so close he was touching her, and he thought she smelled really, really nice. She kept her eyes to the front. He wondered if she felt that little tinge of electricity that he felt. He reached up and took the red book down from the shelf. She turned quickly and took a step back, which made her flush up against the shelves. He put the book in her hand. He moved quickly so he stood right beside her, and looked down at the title.___

_"Ancient Magical Dragons and their origins?" he read. He looked at her, smiled and said, "Really?"___

_"It might be interesting, and you have a point, there's always time to read my textbooks later," she said. She blushed. She looked down quickly and then back up. She licked her bottom lip. ___

_He flinched. He could hear her breathing. He stepped over to the other side of the shelves and said, "May I make a suggestion on what you should read?"___

_"You already tried," she said. She pointed back to the book on sexual massage that she put back on the shelf.___

_"I just think if you want a boyfriend, you should read something perhaps on Quidditch or something," he said.___

_"Not all men love Quidditch," she answered.___

_"And most of them don't love Dragons," he said. "They might have when they were five years old."___

_"I didn't say I was going to read this to land a man. I just thought it looked interesting, but I don't anymore." She turned around to place it back up on the shelf. He saw the hem of her jumper lift up as her arm reached the top shelf. Standing behind her, he saw a strip of bare skin on her back. He thought it was the prettiest piece of skin he had ever seen.___

_She turned back around and said, "Anthony Goldstein asked me out."___

_What? Why was she telling him that? She looked all nervous and full of angst, so he said, "I hope you turned him down."___

_"Why would I do that? He seems nice, and interesting, and at least I sort of know him," she looked at the ground and then back at him. "I don't even know why I am telling you this." She picked up her pile of books from the floor, where she put them, and said, "See you, later, Malfoy."___

_He felt like she was dismissing him. Maybe he did not want to be dismissed. He continued to look at books and so did she. When she went up to pay, he stood behind her, to pay for the book on sexual massage. On the counter, there were glass paperweights. There was a royal blue one with red, yellow and blue streaks inside the glass sphere. She picked it up and looked at it intently. He watched her and he thought she looked very appealing as she looked at the paperweight.___

_Why did he keep thinking she looked pretty? This was Hermione Granger! She was not pretty!___

_She put the paperweight back down, and collected her change and started out the door. She looked back at him, as he was paying and said, "Bye!"___

_He smiled when he thought about the fact that she told him goodbye. He told the clerk, "Wrap up that paperweight too, won't you?"___

_The next day he had the paperweight delivered to her house. Along with the book on sexual massage._

Present Day:

Anthony bent down and picked up the man's tie. He said, "Who does this belong to?"

"It was from the photo shoot today. They had me wear it in a couple of the shots. They changed my clothes completely. I didn't even notice that I had brought it with me until I got all the way here, and then I just threw it on the floor," she fibbed. She also froze, because she could feel the tension in Draco from under the desk.

Anthony stood on the other side of the desk and said, "I don't believe you."

"It's the truth," she said, although she knew even that little statement sounded feeble.

"Malfoy was here!" Anthony shouted.

"Not as far as I know," she said.

He threw the tie at her and it hit her on the face before it landed on the desk. He said, "That tie is proof. What's going on? Are you two still together? Are you playing some game? I won't be made a fool of, Hermione!"

"Fine, it belongs to Blaise. He was here earlier. We have rekindled our relationship," Hermione said quickly.

"Blaise? Blaise Zabini? What, were you having sex in here?" Anthony asked, as he put the knuckles of both hands on her desk and leaned forward. She couldn't move due to the handcuffs, but she felt intimidated. When she didn't say anything for the longest time, Draco pinched her leg.

'Talk, Granger,' he thought.

"We weren't having sex," she finally said. "We were just kissing," she added.

"BLAISE!" Anthony yelled. He walked over to her door and shut it. It was very late and there was no one around, so she did not know why he would shut her door. He walked up to her desk and cleared it with his hands, which caused her to cower in fear in her chair. She couldn't even get up and try to leave because Draco handcuffed her to the chair.

He rushed around the desk, pulled her chair away from her desk, and pushed her and the chair up against the wall so fast; she didn't have time to think. His back was to Draco, and good thing, because if he turned around, he would see Draco under the desk.

Leaning over her he said, "Have you lost your mind, Hermione? What in the world is going on with you? You go from Malfoy to someone like Zabini. At least Malfoy is somewhat respectable! Zabini is a rat! A rat, Hermione!"

She said, "Yes, I know he can be a rat at times."

"Why are you seeing him?" Anthony asked. Hermione wondered if he was afraid that Blaise might reveal his secrets.

"If you must know, he's escorting me to the charity black tie event this coming weekend that Gringotts is throwing for the candidates," she said.

He started to straighten up but then leaned back down. He did not see her hand was handcuffed to the chair, nor did he see Draco crawl out from under the desk. Draco crawled over to the door, and then stood up. He opened the door, to act as if he had just stepped in her office.

"Granger, you silly thing, are you still at work?" he said.

Anthony stood up and whipped around. Hermione looked around Anthony's body. Draco's jaw clenched, but he tried to keep a lax daisy stance when he said, "Oh look, the little fake boyfriend and girlfriend are having a private moment. Shall I leave and let you at it?"

Anthony said, "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"What I want is none of your concern, Goldstein," he said.

"Well, go on then. No one here wishes to see you," Anthony said. He walked around Hermione's desk and went to the door. He turned back just as Hermione was scooting her chair back toward her desk. He said, "Go home and get some rest, Hermione, and we will talk more about this tomorrow, but I tell you, this won't continue. I will escort you to that event this weekend, not Zabini!" He ran a hand through his dark hair and walked out the door.

Draco walked over to Hermione and put his hand on her face. "Did he hurt you at all?"

"No, not at all," she answered. "Get these silly things off me, please." He took his wand and removed the handcuffs. She rubbed her wrist. He picked her wrist up and pulled her from her chair. He kissed the inside of her wrist. She removed her wrist from his hand, bent down, and started to pick up her belongings. He bent down to help. He saw the paperweight, which he had given her so long ago. He did not know she had kept it. He picked it up and placed it on her desk carefully.

When they had everything picked up he said, "You know now that you will have to have the rat escort you to that charity event."

"I know, but I just didn't know what else to say. Do you think he believed me?" she asked, standing by the desk.

"As angry as he seemed, yes, and this might work to our advantage. He knows that Blaise knows his secrets," Draco deduced. "Perhaps that will force his hand. He will be afraid that Blaise might reveal all to you." He looked over at her and she seemed defeated and tired. He put his arms tight around her and she relaxed in his arms. He kissed the top of her head, as her arms snaked around his waist.

She said, "This is all too much for me. I wish it were over. Why can't Harry just arrest Anthony?"

He rocked her back and forth lightly in his arms. "He doesn't have any evidence yet. It will be over soon, and I will be the Minister of Magic, and you will be undersecretary, and Goldstein will be in prison."

Hermione looked up at him and said, "Would you hate me very much if I said that I might want to win now?"

He let out a small laugh. With his left arm still around her waist, his right hand came up and went to the back of her neck. He slid his lips lightly over hers and she welcomed his kiss. He said, "I would hate you if you didn't really want it. I know at first you didn't want it because you felt it was forced upon you, but now that you know you have a choice in the matter and that you could concede if you wanted to, it's only right and natural that you might want it now. I know what I want, I want you forever."

"You're a sap," she laughed. She put her head back and laughed. "Draco Malfoy is a sap!"

"Hermione Granger made me that way!" he said. He pushed her face toward his with the hand that was still on the back of her neck, and kissed her harder this time. "I think you might have wounded my pride and stunted my emotional growth by making fun of me."

"Noting about you is stunted," she said back. She hit his chest. "Go home, Draco. I have a big day tomorrow, and I'm not even working. I have to help my mum and dad paint their living room and dining room. I hope they will let me use magic." She went over to her desk and collected her purse. He took the handcuffs from his pocket.

"When the election's over, may we try to use these again?" he asked, swinging them back and forth on his index finger.

"If you are a bad boy, sure," she said. "I probably won't see you until the black tie event. I have to see if Blaise will be my date. Who are you taking?"

"I think I will go stag, and maybe I will hook up with someone there," he said. They walked out of her office, and she turned off the light and shut the door. They walked over to the lifts. He said, "I'll take the stairs, just in case there are still people around. See you in a day or two."

She smiled at him and heard the ding of the lifts. She walked in the lifts and waved to him as the door shut. He watched until the door shut completely. He walked over to the stairs and started up to the lobby. He no sooner entered the stairwell when he knew he wasn't alone. He walked up the first flight of stairs, and stopped on the landing. He leaned against the wall, and took out his wand. He twirled it in his hand. Anthony came walking down the stairs. He stopped on the landing.

"I thought it might be you, Goldstein," Malfoy said, with a small smile.

"You and Hermione are still together aren't you?" Anthony asked.

"Why would it matter if we are?" he asked back.

Anthony took out his wand as well. Before one man knew what happened, the other one extinguished the lights in the stairs and a flash of red from a curse bounced off one of the walls, after it hit the other man square in the chest.

(The handcuff idea from the reader – 'foozy floosy' – Thanks!)

_**Chapter End Notes:**_

_(Poll results: Wow, 25 new votes, that's awesome, and the results are that Hermione now is back to 50 percent and Draco is at 49. I can't believe the tight race we are having. This is the last time I will report the results until the end. That doesn't mean that people should stop voting! Thanks!)_


	35. Chapter 34

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 34 –**

Present Day:

"Summer squash? It looks orange to me," Hermione told her mother as she looked at the paint in the can.

"It's not orange! Do you think I would paint my dining room orange?" she asked her daughter.

"I think you ARE painting your dining room orange," Hermione stated, as she poured some of the paint into the tray. "So, you are okay if I use magic you said, right?"

"Since your father bailed on us, by all means, use magic," her mother laughed.

Hermione began to 'magic' rollers and brushes to paint every spare corner of all four walls of the dining room. She sat down on a chair, which was covered in plastic, to supervise.

"How is the election going, darling?' her mum asked.

"Oh, it's a tight race. Only a point separating us the last time I heard," she said. She did not want to bother her mother with all the other news, for example, Percy's health, Anthony duplicity, Blaise Zabini. Her mum did not need all the sordid details.

"I think that Draco Malfoy is so handsome," Mrs. Granger said.

Hermione could not help but smile. She looked at the ground and said, "Well, I do too."

"He's so nice, too," her mother said.

Hermione looked at her mother thoughtfully and asked, "How would you know? When did you meet him?"

"I met him several times, once at the restaurant after graduation, once when you took me to the Ministry, remember? He was there that day, and when was the other time?" Her mother looked confused for a moment and then said, "Oh, yes, that time he brought that birthday present to you, on your last birthday."

"What birthday present?" Hermione asked, standing up.

"Hermione dear, watch the brushes and rollers please," her mother scolded. Hermione sat back down to watch the painting.

She repeated, "What are you talking about, Mother?"

"I believe it was this past September, and he knocked on the door, introduced himself, and he said that he had a birthday present for you. I told him he could take it to your house, and started to give him the address, and he told me knew where you lived, but he wanted to leave it here. I told him that was fine, for you would be here for your birthday," her mother said.

"What was it?" Hermione asked, trying hard to remember. "I don't recall getting a present from him a last September."

"It was that music box that played that song you love from the Nutcracker Suite," her mother said. "Dear, if you have this taken care of, I think I will go get the living room ready for painting." Her mother bent down, took the roll of plastic, and went to the other room.

Hermione remembered that music box. She also remembered there being no card, and at first, she thought it might be from Draco, because they had discussed the fact that she loved the music from 'The Nutcracker', but she also knew that Anthony told her it was from him. Her anger began to boil over, when she thought of all the times in the past when she started to feel like she might have feelings for Draco, and Anthony would come and ruin it for her, by making her feel guilty, thus forcing her to get back together with him. However, lying about the music box, that was too much. Draco probably thought she did not like it, since she never thanked him for it.

Oh, someday, Anthony Goldstein was going to pay!

_Flashback:___

_Hermione was on her way to lunch, when she felt something hit her on the back. It was a windy September day, so when she turned around and did not see anything, she was not surprised. She figured the wind blew something at her. She turned to walk back the same direction, when something hit her in the head the second time.___

_She turned again, and besides seeing a few people walking behind her, she did not see anything suspicious. She turned back again, and yet again, something hit her for the third time. When she turned this time, she saw Draco Malfoy, throwing a peanut, fully shelled, up in the air. "Hey, Granger," he said. He held out a bag of the same peanuts toward her and said, "Peanut?"___

_"Are you throwing those at me," she asked.___

_"Why, yes I am, why?" he asked.___

_She was about to say something scathing to him, but instead had to smile. "Why are you throwing peanuts at me?'___

_"It never dawned on me that you wouldn't like that sort of thing," he said with a laugh. "Shall I stop?'___

_"Yes, stop," she said. He walked along beside her and crushed a peanut shell in his hand, took out the nut within, and threw the shell on the ground.___

_"You need a nutcracker," she said.___

_"My hand works on peanuts, and I don't really like other nuts that much," he said. He crushed another shell, and popped the nut in his mouth. He said, "You know, when I was young, we had a magical nutcracker, and he would march around the table, and I would throw nut after nut at him, and he would go crazy trying to shell all the nuts that I threw."___

_"Leave it to you to torment a magic nutcracker," Hermione said with a smile. "I can't even begin to fathom a magical nutcracker. Just like in the ballet, 'The Nutcracker Suite', when the nutcracker comes to life. Are you familiar with that? It's a Muggle story," she asked.___

_"Yes, I know it," he said. ___

_"I loved it when I was young. I loved all the songs, and I would hum them all. I wanted to take ballet lessons when I was young just so I could dance in that ballet at Christmas, but alas, I was born with two left feet. My ballet teacher told my parents to take me away and never bring me back," she laughed.___

_He smiled because her smile was so wide it was contagious. The September wind made her hair fly all around her face. Without thinking, he reached up to smooth her hair down, and to remove it from in front of her face. She put her own hand in her hair. She said, "Certainly is windy, today."___

_"Yes, it is," he answered her. "That's the thing about September; you never know what the weather will be like. Sometimes its windy, sometimes its cold, sometimes its still warm. A lot like March."___

_"I know it was hard having a birthday in September. It never failed that my parents would plan an outside party, and it would be cold and windy, and the next year they would plan an indoor party, and it would be sunny and warm," she explained. She went to stand under an awning, in front of a store window. He stood beside her.___

_"Ah, yes, you have a September birthday, don't you?" he asked.___

_"Yes, I have one in three days. My parents are planning a surprise party for me," she tried to joke. "But don't tell anyone, because it's a surprise."___

_He did not know what was different about her today, but she seemed so open and amenable to him. He liked it. He said, "How do you know about it if it's a surprise?"___

_"My dad told me. He can't keep a secret," she smiled. "Well, I have to go to lunch, because I don't want to be late getting back to work."___

_"Well, if I don't see you again before your actual birthday, let me wish you a happy one now," he said. He threw the bag of peanuts toward a trash bin, and held out his hand to her. She put her hand in his. He said, "A birthday handshake."___

_"Some people prefer birthday kisses," she said. As soon as she said it, she felt embarrassed. What was wrong with her? It was almost as if she were flirting with him. She quickly looked down. She was well aware that he still had her hand. He pulled on her hand, so that she was up against his body.___

_"Which do you prefer?" he asked. She looked up into his grey eyes, and they were so bright and daring, they almost seemed to dance. His lips were parted and tilted up in a slight smile. His right hand still held her right hand. His left hand went to her left shoulder, and then down to cup her elbow. She was so close to him, and he was so tall, that she had to crane her neck upwards to look at him.___

_She thought he was very handsome. It felt like they were in that position for ten minutes, but in truth, perhaps a minute or two passed. Finally, she said, "I don't mind birthday kisses, as long as they aren't unwelcome."___

_"What would make a birthday kiss welcomed?" he asked. His right hand, still grasping her right hand, placed both of their hands on his chest. His left hand went to her back. She almost froze. Was he going to kiss her? They had kissed before, but not a real kiss. He gave her that short and brutal kiss at Harry's house that time, but that was certainly, what she would have described, as an 'unwelcome' kiss. She knew he had kissed her that time she was under the influence of the codeine. She was not as 'out of things' as she let on that night. However, did he mean to give her a real and proper kiss, right now?___

_"Granger, did you hear my question?" he asked, smiling.___

_"No, I really didn't. My thoughts were elsewhere," she said truthfully.___

_The hand that was over hers on his chest, moved to stroke her windblown hair, and then joined his other hand on her back. She put both of her hands on his chest. "I asked what would make a birthday kiss welcomed."___

_"If it was from someone you wanted to kiss, of course," she said plain as day.___

_He did not ask her if that meant him. Instead, he leaned down, his mouth coming ever closer to hers, but then he drew away quickly, to look at her again. When it was apparent that she was not flinching, she was not screaming, and she was not telling him that she hated him, he decided to kiss her. He was going to kiss her the way he wanted to at Potter's house that summer. He was going to kiss her the way he wanted to at St Mungos when she had the hives. He was going to kiss her the way he wanted to when she was sleeping that day at her house, when she took too much medicine. He was finally going to kiss her the way he had dreamt of kissing her every night and everyday for years and years.___

_Draco Malfoy was going to kiss Hermione Granger the way her wanted to, no one was going to stop him, and it was welcomed, dammit!___

_With his left hand still firmly on her back, in case she tried to escape, his right hand came around and cupped her cheek. His thumb moved back and forth across her face. He brought his head slowly close to hers. The wind picked up and her hair blew in his face. He laughed and took the hand that was on her face, and put it in her hair.___

_His lips hovered close to hers, and he said, "Happy Birthday, Hermione," and she felt the gentle pressure of his lips against hers. He awoke a yearning in her; truthfulness emerged, in which she had long denied. His lips moved so softly against her own, that she was not sure he had moved them at all, except that her lips had parted somehow.___

_He pulled at her bottom lip slightly, before putting his mouth full against her mouth. His tongue timidly left his mouth, to circle hers. She felt lightheaded, and in deed, felt flushed. As if sensing this, he put his arms tighter around her. His tongue felt the silky wetness of her mouth, and when her tongue came out to touch the tip of his, he felt an immediate jolt to his groin.___

_He wanted to deepen the kiss, and push her against the wall, and kiss her brains out, which meant something with a brain like hers, but instead, he pulled away slightly, only to go back in for the finishing touch. He kissed her lips once more, not just once, but small, consecutive kisses, no more than five or six in a row, before he lifted his head from hers. Her eyes remained on his, as she touched her fingertips to her lips. He removed her hand from her lips, bent down and gave them one more kiss, very quickly, and then he kissed her fingertips. He released her, and this time he looked down. He was waiting for the onslaught. 'Let the hate begin!' he thought to himself.___

_Instead, she said, "That was a welcomed birthday kiss, thank you." She felt stupid for saying 'thank you', so she quickly ran from him and ran toward the diner. He remained by the picture window for a moment. At that exact moment, he turned to look in the window, there was a display of music boxes, and he got an idea. An idea of what he could get her for her birthday.___

_After ordering her food, Hermione sat alone in the diner in Diagon Alley where many Ministry employees ate their lunches. Usually, she sat with Harry or Ron, or one of her staff members, and sometimes with Anthony, but today, she sat by herself. She had a lot of thinking to do. Mainly, she had to think about that kiss.___

_She had been thinking a lot lately about her feelings toward Draco Malfoy. She was beginning to recognize the fact that she liked him; maybe even more than liked him. He seemed to like her as well. He still infuriated her so much, but she liked him, and more than just as a friend. She was currently no longer seeing Anthony, so she decided she needed to work up the courage to go see Draco, right after lunch, and perhaps invited him to coffee, or dinner, or something. What would he think of that? She thought he might be receptive. He seemed like he liked her in return. He had kissed her after all, and it was a bloody good kiss. Not too much, not too little, but just right.___

_Moreover, look at all he had done for her over the years. He had bought her things, and taken care of her. Even before the kiss today, she had mentioned the fact that she was thinking of asking him out to Harry and he laughed at first, but then told her to go for it. She also mentioned it to Ron. He did not seem overjoyed at first, but he too finally told her to follow her heart. Therefore, she had just resigned herself to ask him out the next time she saw him, when Anthony walked in the diner. Hermione tried to hide behind a menu, but it was too late, he saw her. __  
__He waved and walked over. Hermione said, "Hello, Anthony, how are you today?"___

_"Great, really. Did you hear that Percy's been a bit under the weather?" he asked. ___

_"Everyone knows that Anthony, that's why he's giving up his post as Minister, remember?" Hermione said, somewhat peeved.___

_"No, I know that, but he went home really sick today," Anthony said, sliding into the booth next to Hermione. ___

_"Anthony, if you are going to invite yourself to sit down with me, than at least sit on the other side," Hermione stated.___

_"I can't stay," he said. "I actually have something I wanted to ask you."___

_"Go ahead," she said.___

_"Well, I know that Percy asked you to consider taking over as Minister, and I also know you said yes, so I wanted to know if I could run your campaign," he said.___

_"Why do I need to run a campaign? It's not like I am running against anyone," Hermione said. At that moment, the server brought her food to her. Anthony began to eat off her plate. She always hated that.___

_"Well, that's not true anymore," Anthony said with his mouth full of her food. "By the way, Ron mentioned to me that you are thinking of asking Draco Malfoy out on a date."___

_Hermione made a mental note to kill Ron. She said, "I might be, and I'm not sure that's your business anymore."___

_"That's why you need me, Hermione, you are so imperceptive," Anthony laboured. "You see, you are under the erroneous belief that Draco Malfoy fancies you, but if you ask him out, you will just be making a fool of yourself. He does not like you, not at all. In fact, he is probably using you."___

_"What do you mean?" she asked.___

_"You really haven't heard have you?" he asked. He stood back up and said, "Be at the Ministry in an hour. There is a press conference being held. I think you will find it enlightening. After the press conference, let me know if you want me to run your campaign. Goodbye, Hermione." He bent down and kissed the top of her head.___

_She finished eating in a hurry, so she could get to the Ministry in time for the press conference. After the press conference, she could ask Draco out on a date!_

Present Day:

"Malfoy, you should let us call Hermione," Harry said.

Draco lay in a hospital bed, at St Mungos, and he looked up at Harry. "No, Potter, I don't want to worry her, and besides, it would look suspicious if she came to visit me." Draco winced in pain as he adjusted himself on the bed. "Damn hospital beds. I think they make them uncomfortable to make you want to leave!" Draco tried to sit up.

"Lay back down, Malfoy," Harry said, but not kindly. "I think I have all the information that I need from you. I still cannot believe you were not discovered until this morning! I am going to station two Aurors outside your room at all times."

"Just make sure she's safe," Draco said.

"She will be, and we will find Anthony. He has to know that there's nowhere to hide now," Harry said.

"If only I had remembered to pick up my tie!" Draco said. "He didn't believe her at all when she said it was Zabini's tie. After he cursed me, and I lay on the floor in pain, he told me that the minute he saw me come in the room without a tie on, he knew it was my tie, so that was when he decided to wait for me in the stairs. We should have been more careful, like you said."

Harry looked amused and said, "Is Draco Malfoy actually saying that Harry Potter was right and that he was wrong?"

"Shove it, Potter," Draco said. "Leave now, I'm tired. It's not every day someone lives through that sort of curse."

"You are such a big baby. It's third year and Buckbeak all over again," Harry said. "If Anthony had wanted to kill you, or even hurt you badly, he would have, so that's what I don't understand. Nothing about this case is making sense. Well, I really do have to go. The healers said you will only be here a day at the most."

"Thanks for finding me this morning. Now, get out of here and find Goldstein," Draco said.

With the dining room all painted, Hermione moved to the living room. Her mother had picked sage green for that room. She actually thought the dining room turned out nice. She would have to let her mother know that. Her mum was in the kitchen, fixing some lunch for them. There was a knock at the door. She told her mother that she would answer it. She answered the door and said, "Anthony, what are you doing here?"

_**Chapter End Notes**__:_

_I am no longer going to post the results of the poll so the election results can be a surprise. I will keep the poll open on however. Also, I will take into account any votes that people have left in their reviews on this site. I will let everyone know who won at the end of the story. Thank You_!


	36. Chapter 35

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 35** -

Present Day:

"Anthony, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked, moving to the side, to hold the door open.

"May I come in, I really need to talk to you?" he said. Then, without waiting for her response, he barged in.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked.

"I went to your office and your assistant said you took the day off today to help your mother and father paint," he explained. He looked around and said, "Where are your mum and dad?"

"Dad went to the office, he really didn't want to paint, and mum is making us some lunch." Hermione closed the door. She was weary having Anthony here, but she really did not think he would ever hurt her, especially here in her parent's house.

He asked, "Why aren't you at work today, anyway? Really?"

"Is that why you stopped by, to ask about my attendance record?" she asked, disgusted. "Listen, Anthony, say what you came to say, and then I would appreciate it if you would leave."

"Have you heard from Malfoy this morning?" he asked.

"I told you we aren't seeing each other anymore, why won't you believe that?" she asked.

He said, "Why not indeed." He looked around nervously and said, "Where is your mum again?"

"In the kitchen," Hermione stated. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

He took two steps closer to her and said, "I know that wasn't Zabini's tie. I know it was Malfoy's." Her silence and shocked demeanor confirmed his accusation. He asked, "Did you think I was stupid? If you continue to play with fire, you will be burned."

"You are full of it!" she said. "You need to leave, now. You are being melodramatic. Just say what you really came to say. If you came to make accusations, you made them, now leave. If you came to quote little words of wisdom, you have done that, too. I really do not see any reason for us to keep talking. We are not friends anymore. And while we are on the subject of the blame game, you aren't without fault, you know."

"What have I done?" he asked.

"Two words," Hermione said, "Percy Weasley."

"What about Percy?" he asked, confused.

"I overheard you and Blaise talking in Blaise's apartment. I know what you are, and what you've done, and as soon as it can be proved, you will go to prison for a very long time!" Hermione opened the door back up and said, "Now, leave, before I call the Aurors."

He rushed up to her so suddenly, she was caught unaware. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into a table that was against the wall in the foyer. A vase with flowers, which were on the table, fell over in the fight. He shook her hard and said, "What do you know? Tell me what you mean! What do you think you overheard between Blaise and I!"

Mrs. Granger rushed from the kitchen into the foyer. She saw the vase and flowers on the floor, her daughter backed up against the wall, and Anthony Goldstein hovering over her. Hermione and Anthony both looked at her as she walked through the door.

"Anthony, I think Hermione asked you to leave," Mrs. Granger said, in a stern but steady voice.

Anthony let Hermione go so suddenly that she slipped down the wall. He turned back toward them and said, "You are making a huge mistake dismissing me, Hermione!" He walked out the door and slammed it hard behind him.

Hermione stood up and said, "Dad will have to finish the living room the good old fashion way. I have to go to see Harry."

Hermione went home, changed, and went right to Harry's office. She ran in without knocking. He stood up when he saw her enter. He said, "You really shouldn't run in here without knocking. I might have been doing something embarrassing."

"What type of embarrassing things do you do in your office?" Hermione asked with a look on her face, which denoted disgust.

"What did you do in your office the last time you were there?" Harry asked.

"Good point," she admitted. "Hey, how do you know what I did that last time I was in my office?"

"Never mind that, where have you been? The Aurors that were watching you didn't know where you had gone and you weren't home, or here!"

"My assistant knew where I was, I was helping my mum at home," she said.

"Well, your assistant never told us that!" Harry spat.

Hermione said, "Get that wand out of your arse, Harry! Did you even ask her? Why can't I take a bloody day off every now and again! First Anthony gets angry because I took a day off, and now you do."

"When did you see Anthony?" Harry asked her.

"That's why I came down here, and if you would just shut up I would tell you! He came to my mum and dad's house. He told me he knew that Draco and I were still seeing each other. He made some threats, got physically abusive, and then he left."

"Physically abusive?" he asked. She removed her jacket and showed him the large bruises that were forming on her arms. "Well, we are looking for the bastard," he said, as he gently touched one of the bruises. "He confronted Draco last night in the stairwell, apparently he knew Draco was in the office with you, and he knew it was Draco's tie because Draco was missing a tie when he pretended to drop by to see you. He waited for Malfoy, and then he threw a curse at him. Nothing too serious, but it left him incapacitated for a while."

She immediately became worried. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's perfectly fine, and he will get out of St Mungos this afternoon."

"He's in St Mungos?" she screeched.

"Did you not hear the 'he's perfectly fine' part?" Harry asked.

"I need to go see him," she said.

"No, you don't. You need to stay here, and let me tell you, with Goldstein on the loose, you will have a 24-hour guard, whether you want it or not. Malfoy will be fine, he didn't even want us to tell you," Harry said.

Hermione's face fell. He did not want to see her. "Does he blame me?" she asked.

"Don't be stupid, Granger," Blaise said as he walked in the office.

"Seriously, does no one know how to knock?" Harry asked.

"Blaise, have you heard from Anthony?" Hermione asked.

"Not at all, but I heard about Draco. I just came back from seeing him and they have already let him go. He's a bit sore, but no worse for wear," Blaise offered.

Hermione turned to look at Harry and asked, "Why would Anthony just want to hurt him? If he were not above killing Percy, why wouldn't he want to kill Malfoy, too? In addition, I thought he wanted Draco to win. None of this is making any sense at all to me, and I don't like it one bit," she said.

"I feel the same, but I don't have time to discuss it right now. I have work to do. Either go home or stay right here at the office Hermione. No roaming around," Harry warned.

"I want to go see Draco," she said.

Blaise said, "That's why I am here. He asked me to come and to tell you that he doesn't think you two should see each other until this all blows over, just for your own sake. Also, there are all sorts of press there. It's not everyday a prominent business man and perhaps the future Minister of Magic is attacked right here in the Ministry."

"But if Anthony knows everything, then we don't have to hide any longer," she said.

"Either way, until the election is over, Malfoy said he doesn't want to see you," Blaise said.

Harry said, "Hermione, I think it's for the best, and actually, he said basically the same thing to me."

"What?" she asked, obviously hurt and confused.

"Sorry, Hermione," Blaise said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Malfoy told me how you were going to ask me to take you to the black tie event tomorrow. He thinks it would be a good idea if we went together, so if you will have me, I would like to take you."

Hermione felt overwhelmed. "Sure, whatever." She walked down the hallway, her hand skimming the wall as she went. Draco didn't want to see her right now. Why? She thought it was ironic that only a short month ago she would have liked nothing better than to curse Malfoy herself, but now, she loved him, and she only wanted him safe. She had loved him for a very long time, actually. She went to her office, shut the door, and collapsed on the sofa. She wanted this bloody election over with immediately!

_Flashback:___

_After lunch, Hermione went right to Harry's office. She poked her head in and said, "Knock, knock, what are you up to, Mr. Potter?"___

_"Not much, Miss Granger, and why are you in such a chipper mood?" he asked.___

_She came and sat on his desk and said, "Can you keep a secret?"___

_"Can I keep a secret?" Harry laughed. "That's like asking me if I have a lightning bolt scar on my forehead. I think I can keep a secret."___

_"I've made a decision," she said, swinging her legs back and forth. He grinned at her. He motioned with his hands for her to continue. "I am finally going to ask Draco Malfoy out on a date!"___

_"Oh, my worse nightmare, after the return of Voldemort, has come true," Harry whined. She hit his arm. He said, "So his feelings for you are finally reciprocated?"___

_"Apparently, and he kissed me after lunch today," she said with glee.___

_Harry made a sour face and said, "No, that's my worse nightmare after Voldemort coming back. Yuck, you kissed Malfoy." Hermione hit his arm harder this time. He said, "In my defense, he isn't one of my favourite people you know, but I know he's had feeling for you for a while. We've discussed it, you see, he and I."___

_"Oh really," she said, drawling out the 'really'. "Discussing me with Malfoy, are you?"___

_"I say it's high time one of you made a move, so go ahead and ask him out. While I will never really like him, he has changed, and for the better, and he cares for you, so whether you want it or not, you have my blessing. Just don't ever kiss him in front of me."___

_Hermione swatted at his arm again. She jumped off his desk and said, "Do you know what this news conference is about? Anthony told me about it at lunch."___

_He came to stand, put a file away, and said, "The gossip is that someone else is going to be throwing their hat in the old election ring. You are going to have some competition, Hermione!" Harry smiled at her.___

_"I like competition," she said, matter of fact.___

_"Yes, well, maybe this person, whoever he or she is, might win and you won't have to take a job you don't want," Harry said. She had never come out and said she didn't want the job, but he knew she didn't, and for many of the same reasons he didn't want the job when it was offered to him. She, like Harry, preferred to stay out of the limelight, and thought they could have more power to change things it they didn't have to worry about being in power. "Do you want to escort me the lobby in ten minutes, Hermione? We will see for ourselves what this business entails."___

_"Meet me by the stairs," she said. She hopped off his desk and started down the hallway.___

_She saw a familiar blond head. She ran up to meet him. She touched his arm, and said, "Draco?"___

_He turned around. She smiled, but he had a slight frown on his face. However, it melted and was replaced by a smile when he saw it was she. He looked at the man he was walking with and said, "Give me a moment, won't you?" The man nodded and walked away.___

_"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "If you are busy, I won't take up your time."___

_"I'm not busy, well, I will be soon, but not at the moment," he said.___

_"Are you here for the press conference?" she asked.___

_He knew at that moment that she had not heard the news. "Yes, I am," he confessed.___

_"I wonder who's running against me," she asked aloud. He shrugged. "I wanted to ask you something, Draco." She froze on the spot. She did not know if she had the nerve to ask him. He took her elbow and led her to the wall, so they were away from all the people walking toward the middle of the hallway.___

_"Ask me what you may," he said, smiling. He was dying with anticipation. He knew that kiss today was the right move. Maybe she was going to ask him for another kiss. If so, he was willing and able.___

_She stared up at him for a long time. The man he was walking with earlier came back and said, "Malfoy, come on, we are going to be late. The press conference is in three minutes."___

_"In a minute!" Draco snapped at the man. He walked her further down the hallway. He said, "Please, what did you want?"___

_"Are you going to the press conference?" she asked.___

_"Yes, is that what you wanted to asked me?" he asked, somewhat disappointed.___

_"No, it's just, I thought maybe you were here stalking me again, but you are here for the press conference," she said, but more to herself.___

_"I could stalk you later," he joked.___

_"It's a date," she said boldly.___

_"What?" What did she say?___

_"After the press conference, you and I should get together, do something, have some coffee, or maybe, I don't know, just do something. It's a date. A date." She had trouble breathing and her stomach was doing cartwheels, she was so nervous. She felt like she was going to have emergency diarrhea, she was so nervous. And he was just staring at her. If she was alone, she would bang her head on the wall and say, 'stupid, stupid, stupid'. When his silence continued she said, "I was joking, and I forgot what I really wanted to ask you."___

_She turned and practically ran down the hall. He ran toward her and reached out for her arm. He spun her around.___

_"No!" he practically shouted.___

_"No?" she asked. No what?___

_"No, you weren't joking, not really, were you?" he asked. All his words came out jumbled, and he knew he was making a bloody fool of himself. He finally said, "How about we go out tonight, for dinner, or whatever you would like? Do you think that is something we could do? Dinner? Tonight?" He had one thought, and it was this: He was an idiot.___

_Now it was her turn for complete and utter silence. The man from earlier said, "Now, Malfoy!" and he started to pull on Draco's arm. He maintained eye contact with Hermione as he was pulled down the hall.___

_Harry came up to Hermione and said, "Come on, Hermione, the press conference is starting." He started to pull her down the hall also. Soon they had caught up with Draco and the other man. She looked at Draco and nodded.___

_"Is that a yes?" Draco shouted over all the people.___

_All she could do was nod again, as she was now too far away to speak to him, unless she wanted to yell. Bloody hell, Draco was going to announce his candidacy for Minister of Magic, and the ONLY reason he was going to run in the beginning was to get Granger finally to notice him, and now, she agreed to go out with him, before the news conference. In fact, she asked him out first, he was just too dumbstruck to answer.___

_He waited to be announced to the press and he had a terrible thought. What if this all backfired. What if she was upset that he was running against her? No, Anthony Goldstein made it perfectly clear that Hermione didn't even want the post. Draco had even asked Harry, and Harry more or less said the same thing. Maybe she would be grateful that he was running. Perhaps he was saving her from a fate worse than death, and besides, he rather wanted the job, after all. He would make a good Minister of Magic, and he would have the prettiest undersecretary that any Minister ever had, well, except for Percy Weasley, since he was referring to the same person.___

_He stepped up to the podium, made his announcement, stood in the glory of applause, looked out at the crowd, and saw the woman he had a date with, and she had a frown on her face. Why was she frowning? She looked right at him, shook her head no, and ran away, with Harry on her heels._

_After the press conference, Draco went to Hermione's office. Her assistant told him that she went home. He apparated to her front door and rang the bell. When she did not come to the door, he started to bang on it. He started to call her name. She heard. She was on the other side.___

_Somehow, he could sense her presence on the other side of the door. He leaned up against the door and said, "Hermione, hear me out, please open the door." He waited and got no response. "Listen, I know this is rotten timing, but one thing doesn't have to do with the other. You will see, we can go out tonight, and have a wonderful first date. I have been waiting for this date for a lifetime. Please, Hermione, open the door."___

_She opened the door. She was not about to let him in, however. She said, "Why didn't you tell me that you were running against me? You must have known I would not be pleased. You kissed me today..."___

_He interrupted, "We kissed each other!"___

_"...and all the while you knew that you were going to make that announcement! Did you want to make a fool out of me? Oh lord," she suddenly put her hand up to her mouth, "I told Harry that I was going to ask you out today!"___

_"One thing doesn't have anything to do with the other!" he repeated.___

_"Oh, Malfoy, you are either incredibly blind or incredibly dense! They have everything to do with each other. I cannot go out with you now! How would it look to the public? I don't even want to go out with you now! Go away Draco, just go away." She slammed the door while he stood on her threshold. ___

_He put his hands back up on the wood of the door, and banged the door hard twice. "Granger!" he shouted.___

_She opened the door again and said, "I hate you Malfoy, I really, really do! I was a fool to think otherwise!"___

_"You thought otherwise? When did you think otherwise? All you have ever done is treated me with contempt and maligned my character at ever turn! I've tried and tried with you, Granger, and you know what? I'm through! I give up! You say you hate me, fine, hate me. I love you! There, you have it. I love you. I always have and I probably always will and you know what that makes me, Granger?" He pushed her so that he was standing partly in her doorway. "That makes me the world's biggest fool! You know what else? I am going to crush you! I am going to beat you so badly that in the end, not one person will want to vote for you!" He turned around and left. She slammed the door, even though he was no longer there, but still, she felt a slam was fitting._

Present Day:

Hermione stood outside the door of Draco Malfoy's flat. She had knocked twice, but there was no answer. She was told he was released from St Mungos, so where was he? Maybe he went to his parent's house. She was about to leave when he opened the door.

"You should leave, Hermione."

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, but we really shouldn't see each other, not as long as Goldstein is still out there. Let's not push fate." He started to shut the door.

She put her hand on the door panel and said, "But this is just for appearance sake, right? After the election, we can see each other?"

"We'll see," he said. He was joking, but he knew it wasn't a joke to her when he saw the tears that came immediately to her eyes.

"What?" she said in a weak, pathetic voice.

"Come here, Granger, you silly thing," he said. He pulled her to him and put his arms around her now sobbing body. He smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. "Do you seriously think I would turn you away? Did you think I would give you up that easily?" He kissed her right temple, and then her right eye, tasting her salty tears. "I love you, Granger, and no matter what, I won't ever give you up again."

"You scared me," she said, as she tried to stop crying. "I thought I mucked it all up."

"What did you do wrong?" he asked. "I really do think we shouldn't be together until the election, however. I will get to see you, although from afar, tomorrow night at the black tie event. Now, I know you have two little Aurors following you. I see them lurking in the hallway right now. I know you will be safe, so go home, take a hot bath, and dream of me," he said, and he kissed her lips as soft as a caress.

"Always. I always dream of you," she said in return. She touched his face and turned to the Aurors. She said, "I guess I am going to my house, gentlemen." She turned back to look at him and smiled. He smiled back.


	37. Chapter 36

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 36 –**

Present Day:

Draco closed the door to his flat and turned to the man just inside the door. He said, "That was difficult. I did not exactly like turning her away like that. She looked positively crushed. I almost feel as badly as I did that day I announced I was running for Minister of Magic, which by the way, I will remind you, you were allegedly suppose to have already told her about, so I swear, you better make this worth my while."

The man said, "If you want the truth, you will play by my rules, and my rules says no public contact with Hermione, not until this is over with. We have to continue to make him think that you two are not together."

"He's too smart for that. He knows we are still a couple, I know he knows," Draco said, coming to sit on the couch.

"Of course he knows, but he still needs to think that you are purposely staying away from each other, even if he knows you two are faking. Its better that way, and she will be safer."

Draco glared at the man and said, "You better promise me that, because I swear if one hair on her head is so much as pulled out, you are a dead man!"

"Trust me, Malfoy," he said.

"I trusted you once, and it landed me in St Mungos. I wasn't supposed to really get cursed, remember. You were suppose to make sure I wasn't hurt, but my head is still throbbing, so I think you lied a wee bit, you wanker," Draco said.

"Yes, well, we hardly fooled Potter as it was. He knows something's going on, by the way, before she tells you about it, I visited her today," Anthony said plainly. "I might have gotten a bit overzealous with her."

"You are supposed to be in hiding!" Draco shouted, "And you are also suppose to leave her be!" He turned away from him, only to turn back and ask, "What do you mean by overzealous?"

"I had to talk to her, but her mother was there, so I didn't get a chance. I grabbed her arms, but I didn't hurt her. I needed to know exactly what she heard between 'me' and Blaise," Anthony said.

"You better hope you didn't hurt her, or I will kill you, I swear on that fact. I will find out what went on with her and Blaise, leave that to me," Draco said. He stood up and poured himself a drink. He passed one to Anthony as well.

"To the next Minister of Magic," Anthony said, holding up his drink. Draco clanged his glass to Anthony's glass, and took a big drink. If only it was that simple.

The next morning, Hermione decided to take another day off work. She had to get ready for the black tie event tonight, and she did not even have a dress bought yet. She dressed and showered, and for some reason, a reason in which she could not pinpoint, she felt on edge, as if something big was going to happen tonight. She felt a heaviness on her chest, and she had trouble breathing and trouble swallowing. She felt like she was sitting on a powder keg and it was about to go off any minute and blow her to bits. It might have to do with the fact that Anthony was missing. It might have to do with the fact that Draco didn't want to see her last night, or it might have to do with the fact that the election was almost at hand, and she wasn't even sure which way she wanted it to go.

Then again, maybe it was just indigestion.

Whatever the case, she felt off, and on edge, she was worried, and she could not articulate why. She had no clue what the outcome of any of this would be, but it could not be good.

She walked to a store in Muggle London. It was a high-end department store. She took the escalator up to the woman's department. She really did not want to go to this event tonight, but it was the last big event before the election, so she had no choice. Not only was it 'ties and tails' for men, but all women had to wear either black gowns, or white. She knew most women would probably wear black; therefore, she was determined to wear white.

Her first instinct was that every white gown she looked at looked like a wedding dress, but then, she saw the perfect gown. It was Grecian looking, sleeveless, coming up to a high neck, which consisted of a choker. The bodice was draped to a cinched waist, and it fit very tight on the bottom half. It had a high cut up the legs, and little diamond jewels covering the entire bodice. She thought it was beautiful.

The salesman, a perfectly nice, if not somewhat effeminate man, came up to her and said, "Isn't it lovely?"

"Yes, it is. I have a formal engagement tonight, do you think I might try this on?" she asked.

He smiled and said, "It's a one of a kind. I don't know if we will have time to alter it before tonight, but why don't you try it on, it might fit as it is," he said. He led her to the dressing room, and opened the door. In the middle of the large dressing room was a plush circular bench. There was a large three-way mirror, and four individual dressing rooms with full-length doors.

"Here, try it on, and come out when you are done, and I will zip it in the back," the man said.

Hermione tried on the dress, but immediately did not like how it looked on her. She did not even come out with it on. She opened the dressing room door a bit, and said, "Is anyone there?"

The salesman came up and said, "Do you have it on yet?"

"No, I don't like it after all. Do you have another white dress?" she asked.

He pushed her door open, which surprised her since she was just in her bra and knickers, but he had an even more beautiful white gown in his hand. It was strapless. The bodice was tight fitting, and the white gown was long and flowing and had white netting over it.

"It's pretty," she said, as he pushed it toward her, "but perhaps a bit too pretty, you know, a bit too 'fairy princess'. Don't you think it screams, 'wedding'?" Hermione asked.

He smiled and said, "This dress is perfect for you, and what's more, it's already paid for."

"Oh," Hermione said, "Well, if it belongs to someone else, there's no reason for me to try it on," and she pushed the gown back toward him.

"No, it's paid for, and is for you," the man said. He pushed the gown back toward her. "The man said if a woman with curly brown hair came in looking for a gown, I was to convince her somehow to try on this gown. Like I said, he already paid for it and everything."

Hermione looked confused for a moment and said, "Who picked it out and paid for it? And when? I just got here?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," the man said. He unzipped the gown and said, "Now, try it on, so I will see if it needs adjustments."

"No, I don't want this dress," she said, though it was very pretty.

The man rolled his eyes and said, "He said you would be difficult."

"Oh really?" Hermione asked, peeved. "Listen, I will pick out my own dress and pay for my own dress."

"Just try it on, it will be beautiful, I'm sure," the man proclaimed. "Just try it, please."

She crossed her arms in front of her, no longer aware she was half dressed and said, "Just tell me who bought it!" She was just weary enough not to trust wearing something that she had not bought herself. What if the dress was charmed to emit a poison the moment she perspired? What if the dress was cursed to squeeze her until she could no longer breathe? She knew her imagination was on overdrive, but the caution was warranted.

The man sighed, rolled his eyes, and said, "He said if you were especially difficult to tell you his name starts with a D. Does that help you any?"

"Not really," she said. She reasoned if Anthony wanted to hurt her, he might pick something like this, and he would not be above proclaiming it was from Draco. She had to be careful. She started to push him out of the dressing room. "I will just go someplace else," she said.

The man gave her a positively contemptuous stare and finally said, "He told me if you were impossible that I was to tell you to shut your eyes, and count to three, and he would appear." The young man hung the dress on the hook in the dressing room, and walked out, saying, "I don't get paid enough for this."

Hermione felt like an utter fool, but she closed her eyes and before she could start to count, she heard the door to her dressing room close. She was about to open her eyes in protest, when a hand went over her eyes. The person turned her around, so she was away from them, and toward the mirror. She counted, "one, two, and three." She opened her eyes, but the person's hand was still over them.

She felt the person's cheek next to her cheek, as her body came to rest against a man's hard frame. Her back against his front, the person kept one hand over her eyes, and the other hand skimmed down her arm. She heard the man say, "I'm not asking for your firstborn child, Granger, although I do intend to claim that as my own someday. I just wanted to buy you a pretty dress, is something wrong with that?" He let go of her eyes, and she looked at the reflection of his face, as her own reflection appeared in the mirror. She turned around quickly and jumped in his arms. She felt like she had not seen him for decades, instead of hours.

She said, "Yeah, my stalker returns!"

He hugged her tightly and said, "Well, now, this is nice."

_Flashback:___

_Hermione had to buy a dress for the banquet for the orphan fund banquet at St Mungos next week. She was presenting them with a rather large check of one million galleons, and she was the keynote speaker at the event, so she wanted to have a beautiful gown, but as always, she waited until the last moment to buy something. With only a week to go, she was certain she would not find anything appropriate at Diagon Alley, so instead, she went to a boutique in Muggle London. ___

_It had been four weeks since Draco had announced his candidacy for Minister, and in that four weeks time, she had not talked to him once. She had read about him a lot. He was constantly in the papers. He was also constantly making disparaging remarks about her in the same papers. To think, at one time she thought she might like the prat. Now, she knew, she thoroughly, utterly and completely, disliked the man. She was glad she discovered what he was really like before she became emotionally involved with him. Besides, she and Anthony were somewhat back together again. Not really, but for the sake of the election, they were. He was escorting her to the banquet.___

_As she began to look through the racks, the sales woman asked her if she could help her find anything. She politely said she was just looking. She held up a red gown, and looked in the mirror. That was when she knew she was not alone in the store.___

_"That dress would be okay if you are going for the trollop look? Are you, Granger? I'm not asking you if you are a trollop, I am asking if you are going for that look," Draco Malfoy asked, his arms crossed. He seemed amused.___

_"Why are you alive?" she asked. She put the red gown down and picked up a gold one.___

_"That one will make you look fat, but then again, have you gained some weight since I last saw you?' Draco asked. He sat down in a comfortable chair, content to sit there and malign her character, just for the sheer pleasure of it. When did he turn as hateful as she? The moment she thought it, she knew that she really had been detestable toward him, so she deserved the same treatment back.___

_Ignoring him again, she picked up a midnight blue gown. It was very pretty, and very expensive. The sales woman came up to her and said, "Now that one will look exquisite on you."___

_"Yes, it's beautiful. I really like it. I think I would like to try it on," Hermione said.___

_"No," Draco said. Both Hermione and the sales woman turned to look at him.___

_The sales woman looked perturbed and said, "She can try it on if she wants."___

_"No she can't because I am buying it," he said.___

_Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "It will match your eyes and hair, fine, you take it." She threw it toward him.___

_She picked up a pink dress and he said, "Nope, can't have that one either. I am buying it as well."___

_Hermione pointed to a black dress and said, "May I try that one?" She actually asked Draco, not the sales woman. ___

_The sales woman said, "Certainly."___

_Draco said, "NO!"___

_"Draco!" Hermione stomped her foot. "Do you mean to tell me that you are going to buy every last dress in this shop, just to keep me from buying them?"___

_"Yes," he confirmed. He turned to the woman, pulled out a credit card, and said, "Ring them all up please, every last dress." He turned and smirked to Hermione.___

_"There are other shops, Malfoy," she told him.___

_"Yes, and I will follow you to each of them, and buy them all out too, and you know I have the money to do so."___

_Hermione sat down on the chair he had just abandoned and felt defeated. Why was he being so hateful? She did not have the urge to fight him now. She finally looked up and said, "I will wear something from my closet." She started to leave and he grabbed her arm.___

_"You might find your closet empty," he said. He was lying. He did not have access to her closet. ___

_She said, "Fine, I will go naked."___

_He wanted to say that he would prefer that, but he had to remember that he was angry with her for saying she hated him again, when he knew that she did not, and for not going out with him, after she had agreed that she would. "That might be amusing, but you don't want to scare the public Granger, although, that might be a clear win for me. Yes, go naked," he said.___

_"Why are you being so odious?" she asked.___

_"Because you are, you always are," he said.___

_"Not always," she said softly. ___

_"But usually," he said back. ___

_She looked up at him and said, "I asked this earlier, and you didn't answer, but why are you alive?"___

_"I am alive to torment you, apparently. Who is your pity date to this little soirée you are attending, anyway?" Draco asked, as he tried to look bored.___

_"Anthony, we are officially back together," she lied.___

_He laughed. Loud. "Oh, that's a good one. You do know he's gay, don't you?"___

_"He's not gay!" she shouted.___

_The sales woman said, "Sir, your purchases will be ready by this afternoon, would you like them to be delivered somewhere?"___

_"Yes, here's my card, have them delivered to my business, and I will promptly have them burned," he said. The woman looked shocked. ___

_"Very well, sir," she said, taking his card and giving back his credit card. The woman turned to Hermione and said, "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you."___

_"That's fine, it's not your fault," Hermione said. She looked back at Draco, who was staring right at her. She said, "I don't like you at all, anymore."___

_"I know, you hate me, remember?"___

_"Yes, I do, and I remember why," she said.___

_She went home and decided to wear something from her closet. She stood at her closet, examining all of her gowns (both of them) and she heard a knock at her door. She went to answer.___

_Draco stood outside, holding a package. "Is that a bomb?" Hermione asked.___

_"No, the woman at the store felt sorry for you, so she sent this old rag along with the dresses she had delivered to me. The note said to give it to you. I do not even know what is in the box. I am merely the messenger." He dropped the box outside her door and disapparated. She picked up the box and brought it inside. She opened the lid. Enclosed was the pretty, midnight blue gown._

Present day:

Hermione let go of Draco and said, "I thought we weren't to see each other."

"I am merely here as a fashion consultant, I recall you have no fashion sense at all," he said with a smile. He said, "My little Aurors found out from your little Aurors that you were coming here today, so I stopped by earlier, because I knew you probably hadn't gotten a gown yet. Are you going to try on the dress or not?"

"Yes!" she said, excited. She took the dress from the hanger and said, "It's almost too pretty for me, don't you think?"

He thought she was teasing, but when he looked deeply in her eyes, he knew was being sincere. "My, Granger, you have a warped sense of self awareness. You are so beautiful."

"You think so, but that's because you rather like me," she blushed.

"Yes, I rather like you, you idiot," he said with false scorn. He stepped out of the dressing room and said, "Try it on, idiot, and let me see it when you have it on."

He shut the door, and heard her say, "I'm not an idiot." He laughed. She looked at her reflection, and thought that the dress made her look very pretty, if she did say so herself. She asked the salesman to come in. He walked past Draco, and opened the dressing room door. He came back out a moment later, holding the dress. He walked past Draco without a word.

Draco frowned and knocked on the door. "Granger? I told you I wanted to see you in the dress."

"I'm not getting it," she said back.

"Yes, you are, and it's already paid for, so you have to," he said through the door. He tried the handle, but she had it locked. "May I ask you why you aren't getting it?"

"I just don't want it," she said. Truthfully, she was getting it, but she wanted it to be a surprise. She did not want him to see her in it until the last moment. "I think I will just wear something from home. I have a black gown."

She heard the door open. She turned quickly, startled, as she was only half dressed, in just her knickers, her bra, and her shirt. "Malfoy, I locked that door."

He twirled his wand and said, "Ah, the wonders of magic."

She smiled and said, "Leave, I'm only half dressed."

"Let's remedy that, then," he said. He locked the door, and took off his jacket. He pulled her shirt right over her head in one felled stroke. She was dumbstruck. He said, "Now you are less than half dressed. Shall we go for complete nudity?"

"Malfoy, you and I aren't supposed to be seen together," she said, pushing on his chest with her hands.

"Granger, we are in a woman's boutique, in a dressing room, in a Muggle Department store. Who is going to see us?" he asked. He put her hands on hers and pulled them down from his chest. "Besides, we have out little Aurors guarding us, remember? They are right outside the store."

"What is with you and all the public sex?" she asked.

He had the gull to smack her face, very lightly, and said, "Get you mind out of the gutter, Granger. I was not even thinking about sex. I was going to kiss you, that's all."

"You only mean to kiss me?" she asked with a lazy smile.

He looked her up and down and said, "I might not even want to do that. Convince me to kiss you, Granger."

She turned back toward the mirror, and looked at his reflection. She said, "I don't particularly want to kiss you either, so no convincing will be done on my part."

He pulled her flush up against his chest, so that her back was pressed against his front. The feel of his wool trousers were rough on her legs, especially when he forced one of his legs between hers to part them slightly. In contrast, the feel of his silk shirt was soft on her back. He placed his left hand on her stomach, and his right hand came up and grasped her neck. He pushed her face back toward his, and he kissed her earlobe, pulled on it slightly, and then kissed her neck. He brought his face up to stare at her reflection once again, but her head was thrown back on his chest, and her eyes closed.

"I love you so much," he said, as his mouth went back to her neck. His lips went to her shoulder and he bit her gently, letting his teeth graze lightly on her skin. He brought the knuckles of his right hand up and down her arms. He could feel her flesh pimple as she became excited by his touch. His left hand went from her stomach to her hip. He then placed the same hand on her lower abdomen, to press her rump right up against his erection.

He continued to suck on the side of her neck. His right hand came up and kneaded her breasts over her bra. His left hand went down to stroke the outside of her knickers, and she whimpered. One of her hands went to the back of his head, and she placed the other one on the smooth glass of the mirror.

He whispered, "You naughty girl, you are very wet for me, aren't you?"

Hermione usually did not like 'dirty' talk, but just the way he said that made her moan. She began to arch her back against him, instinctively, and she said, "You are a bit naughty yourself, aren't you. I can feel how naughty you are."

He chuckled and said, "If that's what they are calling it nowadays, than I am always naughty around you, my sweet." His hand slipped inside the elastic of her knickers, and she gasped. Her left leg bent at the knee, as she tried to grant him more access. He was supporting most of her weight, her head was completely back on his chest, and she was moving it side to side. His hand was playing her like was a well-tuned instrument, and he was a virtuoso, or perhaps, since he was orchestrating this interlude, he was a maestro, and she was his orchestra.

His mouth finally captured hers, he kissed her as hard, and deep, as he could, all the while his fingers continued to play her deftly, until she felt like she could no longer stand.

She tried hard not to scream out; she closed her mouth and clenched her teeth. When her legs began to spasm, and her stomach quake, he turned her quickly to face him. He pulled down her panties, and unclasped her bra, doing it all so suddenly that she was not even aware of his actions. He undid his zip, and picked her up, so that she had to wrap her legs around his waist. He drove into her so hard, that he pressed her into the mirror. She threw her head back at the exact same time, hitting it so hard she saw stars, and they weren't just from the amazing sex.

She wanted to cry out in pain now, and in fact, tears came to her eyes. He put one hand on the back of her head for the briefest moments, when he realized what she had done. Then, his hands had to go back under her bum, to hold her upright on top of him. She could no longer distinguish pain from pleasure as he continued his upward descent.

She began to whimper, and the salesman came back to the door and said, "I heard a banging noise, are you alright in there?"

"Yes, oh yes!" she screamed. She was in ecstasy.

"Are you sure?" the man said.

"Oh, shite!" Draco yelled. He was on the brink of a mind-blowing climax.

"Miss, are you alone in there?" he asked.

"No, oh god, no," she said. She was close, so close.

"Miss, is that man that was with you in there, too?"

"Fuck!" Draco said, driving into her harder.

The man rapped on the door and said, "Miss, is he hurting you?"

"Oh! Help!" she screamed. She was only coherent of the way she felt at that moment, and she felt wonderful.

"Shall I summon the police?" he asked concerned.

"Oh, god, yes!" Hermione said in the throes of her climax.

"Sir, don't hurt her!" the man said.

"Oh, shite, mother fucker !" Draco yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued his climax.

"I'm getting the police right now, don't worry, miss!" the man said as he ran from the dressing room.

Draco collapsed against the wall, her legs still around his waist, he still inside her. He put his head in the crook of her neck and tried to catch his breath. Hermione finally moved her wobbly legs from around his waist and said, "Draco! He's calling the Muggle police!" She could not help herself; she began to laugh as she tried to put on her clothes.

"I did assault you after all, how's the head?" he asked. He zipped up and put his hand on her head.

"Forget that, get my clothes, and the gown, and let's get the hell out of here!"

_  
A/N: How is that for an anti-cliffhanger! HA! EVIL LAUGH!_


	38. Chapter 37

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 37-**

Present Day:

Draco apparated them directly to her house. He said, "You realize, don't you, that when we don't end up walking outside, those little Aurors of Potter's are going to get all worried."

"Well, you should have apparated us to the sidewalk, outside the store," she said.

He looked her up and down. She did not even have her bra on yet, just her knickers. She was still just staring at him, so he stared right back. She was smart; he would give her a few seconds before he pointed out the obvious. "Well?" she said.

"Gags, Granger," he moaned. He pointed at her 'lack' of attire; she looked down, and laughed.

"I better go shower." She walked to the bathroom.

"I am going to apparate back to the store. I will tell the Aurors you came home." He leaned against her doorframe, as she removed her knickers, and turned on her shower. He reached over and let his hand skim her back. "Is Blaise picking you up, or is he meeting you there."

"Meeting me there," she said. She got a towel and washcloth from the linen closet.

"Aye, excellent," he said. He turned to leave, only to turn right back. "By the way, Granger, that day you overheard Anthony's dastardly plan, you never did really see him did you? You just overheard, right?"

"Yes, that's right, I was locked in the closet the whole time," she said. "Blaise told you and Harry all about that, remember?"

"If you were in the closet, maybe you didn't hear everything plainly," he said as she stepped in the shower and pulled the curtain shut.

"No, I heard everything. Blaise must have put a charm on the door so I could hear. I heard everything clearly; it was as if I was in the room with them."

"Oh," was all he could say. "Well, see you tonight." He dashed out of her house. He found her little confession interesting.

_Flashback:___

_"Less than a week away, Harry," Hermione said excited. She held up a check made out to St Mungos for 'One Million Galleons'. "I can't believe I raised this much money. I have never even seen this much money. Well, this large of a check, I mean." She hugged it to her chest, and he laughed.___

_"Okay, sweetie, time to lock it up," he said. He took the check from her hands and said, "I'll put it in the safe in my office. You should have just let Gringotts transfer the funds to St Mungos' account. This check isn't even filled in at the top. Why didn't you fill it out?"___

_"Because, Anthony thought it would be more meaningful to hand them a check, and it would be dramatic if I took out a quill and made out the check right there. I have to agree." She leaned over Harry's shoulder and looked at the check once more. "Bye, check. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow!" She touched the check fondly. ___

_Draco Malfoy stood outside the door and thought, 'At least she loves something.' He walked over to talk to one of her co-workers.___

_Harry said, "You are bonkers." He walked down the hall. She leaned her head out of the doorway. She saw Harry nodding to Draco Malfoy as he stood in the hall talking to some workers from the Department of Mysteries. Leave it to him to come around and ruin her mood. Although, he had not come to see her, so he did not know he was ruining her mood. He never stopped by and saw her anymore. She almost felt 'sad', as if she missed the big oaf.___

_She sat down at her assistance desk, pretending to look for something. She really just wanted to stay out there because of him. He walked through her department, and right past her assistant's desk, and did not even look at her. Well, how rude.___

_Hermione bounded from the desk, and went down to the record room. She had some files to look up, regarding a new law she was trying to pass. She knew she wouldn't be able to pass this law until, or unless, she became Minister. However, she wanted to look up prior precedents, because the first time the law was presented to the Wizengamot was over ten years ago, and it failed to pass. She wanted to cover all her bases this time.___

_She entered the lift to go to the department where the records were kept. She looked up because right after she entered, she heard someone say, "Hold the door, please." She put her hand out to stop the door from closing, and Draco Malfoy and the men he was talking with earlier all entered the lift.___

_One of the men nodded to her and spoke. "Hello, Miss Granger. How are you today?"___

_"Pretty," she said. She laughed when she realized what she said, and she amended her statement by saying, "I meant, 'pretty good', how about you?"___

_"I'm pretty too," he said with a smile. Hermione laughed again. Draco snorted.___

_The other man with Draco leaned toward her and held out his hand, "Hello, we haven't met. My name is Tony Ogden, and I would say your first response was spot on." She shook his hand. Draco coughed.___

_Hermione looked at him and said, "Do you have a cold?" She looked back toward the doors. When her floor came up she turned to the three men and said to two of them, "Have a great day, gentlemen. I suppose you can have a marginally nice day too, Malfoy." The other men laughed and she stepped off the elevator.___

_One of the employees of the department of records took her to the area she needed to search. The department of records was a daunting place. There were rows after rows of shelves that seemed to touch the sky, long, winding aisles, and large cavernous cubbies. Yes, it was sort of eerie and overwhelming in there, and when the man turned around to leave, she was all by herself.___

_She started to hum to herself, just to hear some noise, as she pulled out a large tome and began to search it for the information she needed. As she read the small print on the parchment, she heard a loud thump somewhere over her shoulder. She quickly turned around. "Hello?" she said. She strained to listen, when she heard nothing, she figured her imagination was getting the best of her. She went back to reading. She found that the first time the law was presented to the Wizengamot; it was right when Percy became Minister. How curious, it seemed that Percy was not in favour of the law. It appeared that Mr. Spine, her former boss, was the one that pushed for it to be heard on the floor of the Wizengamot. ___

_The law was a complicated amendment, but what it boiled down to was that all birth registrations of anyone with both parents who were at least half bloods, could legally be called a pureblood. This meant if a child's parents were both fully qualified wizards, and at least one of their four grandparents was of pureblood, then these children would be considered purebloods, because both parents were wizards.___

_The reason this was important was the new tax. The new taxation rate was higher for purebloods than for half bloods or Muggle borns. Changing the legal term 'pureblood' to denote a wider array of personages would mean the government could raise more taxes.___

_Hermione couldn't understand why Percy would have been against this law. She could see where some purebloods would be against changing the legal definition of 'pureblood' however. Most pureblood families prided themselves with the fact that they had no half bloods or Muggle borns in any branch of their family trees. However, Percy wouldn't care about something like that, so why would he fight the law?___

_Hermione would ponder these things later. She took the large tome with all the pertinent documents and started back down the aisles, toward the doors.___

_She suddenly heard another noise. She knew it wasn't just her mind playing tricks this time. She definitely heard something. It wasn't uncommon for someone else to be in the record department, but she hadn't heard any footsteps. She heard a noise for the third time. This time a loud bang. She dropped the book and drew out her wand. "Is anyone there?" she shouted.___

_Then, she had a thought. "Malfoy, if that's you, it's not funny, now show yourself." She picked the book back up and began walking down the aisle, heading toward the exit. She said once more, "Malfoy?" but this time, she said it with more vacillation, and less assertion that it was he. She turned to walk straight down the last aisle before she would reach the exit, when all the lights extinguished. She gasped, afraid. She tried to run the direction she thought was right, and she lit her wand. A very large shelf fell over, right in front of her, narrowly smashing her to the ground. She couldn't help herself, she screamed and very loudly.___

_She ran back another aisle, and she fell over a pile of records, which must have been one of the earlier 'thumps' she had heard. She landed on her side. She cried out again.___

_The lights came back on and she heard, "Granger!"___

_She stood up and ran, and ran right into the chest of Draco Malfoy. She dropped the book and buried her head in his chest, her arms around his neck. He held her tight and said, "What's wrong? We heard a scream."___

_One of the men he was with earlier came up and said, "What happened in here? Who knocked that shelf over?"___

_She stepped away from Draco, and said, "Someone extinguished the lights, and then I heard some loud noises, and I was scared, so I started to run down the aisles, and that shelf fell over, and almost hit me."___

_Draco turned her around to face him without thinking. Both hands went to her face, and he held her face between his hands and said, "Are you hurt? You seem truly upset." At that moment, he forgot about their recent animosity. He was back to loving her, as if he ever stopped.___

_"I'm fine, I actually thought it was you," she said. He dropped his hands.___

_"You thought I would try to kill you? Gee, thanks, Granger, but even I don't want to win that badly." He seemed genuinely hurt that she would think that.___

_"No, I meant, I thought the noise at first was you, not that you tried to kill me, you moron," she spat. She leaned down to pick up the book.___

_The other man said, "The only way a shelf this large fell was by magic. Perhaps we should call the Aurors."___

_Hermione took a deep breath and said, "No, there's no need. I'm fine, and I am sure I really didn't hear anything. This shelf could have fallen on its own. Don't bother the Aurors. Harry is lead Auror, and he is protective enough of me." The two men conceded to her wishes, and watched as she walked out of the department.___

_Once out in the hallway, she leaned against the wall, and almost collapsed. Draco stepped out behind her. He walked up to her and said, "Boo."___

_She turned around, clutching her chest, and dropping the book again. "Dammit, Malfoy!"___

_"You are spooked. I knew it. Someone tried purposely to hurt you in there, Granger. You may not tell Potter about it, but I will," he said.___

_"Oh, just go about your business," she said, adding, "What are you doing here, anyway? You don't work here yet, you know."___

_"I had a meeting, which is none of your concern," he said. He added, "Why did you think I was the one trying to scare you in there? Do you really think that lowly of me?" He said it without malicious intent, so she wanted to answer.___

_"No, I don't really think THAT lowly of you," she said, "I just thought you were playing a joke, or irritating me as usual, although, you don't seek me out very often anymore." After that last part, she blushed in embarrassment. ___

_"You hate me, remember? Why would I seek out someone who hates me?" he asked.___

_"I've said that for years, and it never stopped you before. Why does it bother you all of the sudden?" she said.___

_"You just answered your own question," he offered, "You've said it for years, and all of the sudden it bothers me."___

_"But why?" she asked.___

_"Because I never believed it until now," he said. She looked down. She shifted the large book from one hand to the other. He put his hand on her chin, and forced her to look at him, "but I don't hate you back. I could never hate you. Just wanted you to know that."___

_He walked back in the record room, leaving her leaning against the wall, to reflect on what he meant. After he walked out of sight she said, "I don't mean it."___

_Draco looked at the large shelf on the floor. Someone meant to hurt her. He wondered why? She might have been seriously hurt. With that single thought, he knew that any feelings she might have been formulating for him, were probably all gone by now, and as for him, well, his feelings were the same as before. He didn't know what to do about that. He really didn't. He went back to his office, angry with her, angry with the person who tried to hurt her, and angry at the world._

Present Day:

The Black and White ball, as the event was called, was in full swing when Hermione arrived. She felt so light and pretty. She knew she was going to see Draco, and he was going to see her in the dress he picked out, and somehow, that made her feel even prettier.

She was glad 'they' had picked out white for her to wear, for she was correct in her earlier assumptions. Most of the women had on black, or black and white. Only a small handful had on all white, as she did. While she thought all the women looked beautiful and glamorous, she felt she stood apart. The men all looked dashing in the tuxedos with tails. The ball was being held in the large atrium of the Ministry. It was held every year there was an election, as a sort of 'goodbye' to the outgoing Minister, and to greet whomever might be the new Minister. She saw Percy and she felt a pang of regret that they were holding this ball to say goodbye to him.

She felt a hand on her arm. She turned. Blaise was smiling at her. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "My, you are handsome," she said. He was. Next to her very own Draco, Blaise was probably the best-looking man in the room.

"You are beautiful, but of course," he said. His hand went inside his tuxedo, and he pulled out a beautiful fuchsia and purple flower. He handed it to her. She put it up to her nose. It had the most alluring fragrance she had ever smelled.

"This is beautiful, and so unique," she said. She pinned it on her dress, and he smiled down at her.

"So are you," he said. He touched the flower lightly, skimming his fingertips against the bare skin of her chest.

"That's sweet," she said, distracted. She had just seen Malfoy walk through the doors and on his arm was the young reporter from the 'diner' and the 'theatre' incident.

Blaise leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Don't fret, love, he's putting on a show, just like you, remember that."

"I just wish I could be here with him," she said. Then she turned to Blaise and said, "Gosh, Blaise, I didn't mean to offend you. I am so sorry. My foot always lands in my mouth." He looked confused and she said, "Sorry, that's a Muggle saying."

"Oh, well, don't worry, I'm not offended. I know you two are in love," he said with a smile. He brushed his hand against the corsage he gave her, once more, straightening it slightly.

She said, "The flower has a different sort of fragrance, doesn't it?"

He said, "It does have an unusual fragrance. I can't pinpoint what it smells like."

She bent her head and took another deep whiff. She said, "I can't figure it out, either. Maybe larkspur or something. No, you know what I think it smells like? It's not a floral smell at all. I think it smells like almonds. How weird." She took another deep sniff. "Yes, almonds."

"Almonds?" Harry asked. "Your flower smells like almonds?"

She turned and hugged him. "You are so handsome, Harry."

"Did you ever doubt that," Harry asked, as he shook Blaise's hand.

"Of course not. Say that I am beautiful, now," she said. She smiled at him.

"You'll do," Harry laughed. He pointed to a pretty witch over at a table and said, "Look, I even brought a date. You owe me 20 galleons, Hermione."

Hermione looked up at Blaise and said, "I bet him 20 galleons that he wouldn't bring a date."

Blaise said, "That's probably how much he paid for her," and laughed. Hermione couldn't help but laugh as well. Harry looked undeterred, however.

He said, "I shall go give my date your warmest regards." He walked away just as Neville and Ginny walked into the atrium.

Hermione looked back over at Draco and his 'date'. He hadn't looked Hermione's way once. Why the pretense? Anthony wasn't even here. The young woman had her hand on his arm, and was laughing at something he said. Undoubtedly, something incredibly witty and charming. Damn him.

Hermione felt an overwhelming sense of jealously course through her veins, laced with sadness. She wasted so many years 'hating' Draco, when in fact, she had probably loved him longer than he loved her. She remembered thinking that she loved him back at the ceremony for the battle of Hogwarts.

_Flashback:___

_Hermione watched Draco Malfoy as he waited along the fringe of the crowd who gathered around the monument that was erected for the fallen heroes of the battle, and for the brave people who had lived to tell the tale. He waited until the crowd dispersed before he went up to the smooth piece of granite, to have a better look.___

_Hermione kept glancing over at him, as he was now all alone. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky had a weird orange hue. Everything seemed too quiet, too still, too surreal. She walked over to him, not wanting to impede on his solitude, but to offer him some kindness. On the other hand, perhaps he wanted to be alone. She was torn as to what to do. His hand went up to touch one of the names on the stone, and she had decided to leave him to his peace, when she heard him say her name. ___

_Draco said, "Hermione Granger", and he began to trace each letter of her name. The way he said her name, with such longing, and such passion, and a hint of renewal, made up her mind for her. She had to go over to him. She watched him for a moment longer, from the corner of her eye, and when she was certain that no one else was around, she walked up to him. After he said, "Hermione Granger," her head peered around the other side of the great stone sculpture. She made eye contact with him, and he likewise with her. ___

_She could barely believe the way her name sounded coming from his lips. It was almost like a plea. It was as if he was a siren, and he called out to her, beckoning to her, and she was forced to answer. The moment she walked up to him, at that monument, was the second their love story began. She did not know it at the time, but it was.___

_She placed her hand on top of his, as it rested on the cold stone. After what felt like an eternity, she told him, "You know, Malfoy, things that happened between children don't have to shape the men and women that we become. We all made right and wrong choices, and it is what we do with those choices that matter. Whether they were right or wrong, they are over and done. All that matters is the here and now, and in the here and now, all that matters is whether we have learned from our mistakes. I forgive you for every mean thing or bad name, or misdeed, you ever did toward me, and I hold no illusions that this hard truth will be embraced by you, but it's standing in the way of my own future, so I had to say it, whether you wanted to hear it or not. Have a good life, Draco."___

_She removed her hand from on top of his, gave his other wrist a final squeeze, and started to walk away. He removed his left hand and he grabbed her left hand with his right. He said, "Thank you."_

Present Day:

She had loved him for so long. She had, she really had. She had not realized that she had begun to cry, until she felt a hand on her arm. As she felt the hand of another, the eyes of the man she loved locked onto hers, and with concern on his face, he mouthed the words, 'What's wrong?" She shook her head, and turned to run from the room, forgetting the hand that was on her arm.

"Jiminy, Hermione, you look so pretty," Neville said, pulling her toward him and kissing her cheek.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked, wiping away a wayward tear. Neville did not even notice.

"Talking to Ginny. Hello, Blaise," Neville said, offering his hand. Hermione was not aware that Blaise was by her side, until his arm went tight around her shoulders.

Blaise looked at him in a self-aggrandizing way, and shook his hand, saying, "Longbottom."

Neville looked at Hermione's corsage and said, "That's an unusual flower, what type is it?"

"Isn't it beautiful?" Hermione gushed, forgetting her sadness for a moment. "Blaise gave it to me. I think it smells like almonds, which is weird, but it's just about the prettiest flower I have ever seen."

"I don't recognize the species, hey, Zabini, what type of flower is it?" Neville asked, examining it more closely. "It looks almost like an orchid."

"I'm not a botanist, Longbottom, however, I can give you the name of my florist if you really want to know," he said. He took Hermione's arm and led her away. Hermione waved goodbye to Neville. She also looked back toward Draco. He looked at her, and she thought he still looked concerned.

Neville also suddenly had a look of concern on his face and said three word, "Orchids and almonds."

_(Author's Note: If someone can tell me why the 'orchard and almond' part is important, I shall reward you all with an extra chapter! A very romantic, fun filled, flashback laden, full of love, Draco and Hermione filled chapter, which has nothing to do with the story, but will be fun to read. It contains a flashback I have wanted to use, but have not found a place for it in any of the other chapters. Also, this will probably be longer than 40 chapters now.) _


	39. Chapter 38: Bonus Chapter

All characters belong to JKR

_**A/N: Here is the connection between the orchids and the 'almond' reference, which so many people related back to the 'almond infused tea' and the flower poisoning Percy, and at one point I said aloud, "I have the smartest readers ever." I swear, some of the information I was given was staggering and so insightful, that my mind is reeling!**_

**Chapter 38 – Bonus chapter:**

Here are two hints from previous chapters:

The first one, when Hermione made tea for Percy:

_She nodded and walked over to the small kitchenette that was off his office. She took the green tea infused with almonds, that Anthony had given the Minister, and put it in a tea strainer, and began to heat the water. She made the tea, and brought it to him. She noticed that she began to itch again. "I think I am allergic to this tea," Hermione said. She handed the cup to Percy.__  
_  
Here is the second one, when Harry told Draco that Percy was being poisoned:

_"They did a toxicology scan on the Minister as well, and he is being poisoned, but not from the tea."___

_"From what then?" Draco asked.___

_"That's the thing, he had traces of some rare plant, called Orcis Barbadensis, and when the juice from this plant is extracted, it causes all the symptoms Percy has been having, night sweats, leg and hand tremors, ulcers, and neurological symptoms. He's a very sick man, and he is being poisoned, but not from the tea," Harry explained.___

_"Is this a common plant?" Draco asked, sitting down.___

_"No, I talked to Neville, and he said that it's extremely rare, and only grows in parts of South America. He said that it is a flowering plant, which is related to the orchid. He said it is so rare, that only botanist and collectors, orchid collectors, even have access to it. It is not a magical plant. I'm still confused as to what this means," Harry concluded.___

Now, onto the bonus chapter. Remember, it is shorter, and just a flashback that I wanted to use somewhere, but couldn't fit in anywhere. Enjoy:

(This flashback takes place shortly after Hermione started working at the Ministry and after the memory when he found her sad and alone on the park bench, and they went out shopping. It takes place before she was named Undersecretary.) Enjoy!

_Flashback:___

_Hermione walked down the sidewalk, and pulled her coat tighter around her. It was late autumn, but it felt more like winter. Were those snow flurries swirling around her? It was a beautiful day, nonetheless. It was Sunday, and Hermione usually spent Sunday with her parents or her friends, but today, she just wanted some time to be alone and reflect. She decided to walk to her favourite park, and sit down with a book, at her favourite park bench, but wouldn't you know it, fate had other plans.___

_She almost turned around and walked the other way when she saw him. It wasn't because she held bad feelings for him anymore, if she really ever did, it was just that she wasn't sure she was up to trading barbs with him today. He did seem to show up at the most appropriate times, though, usually just when she needed him. Today, it looked like he needed her. Because as she approached, she saw his head hanging low, and his arms on his knees, his hands clasped. He didn't even look up when she walked closer.___

_"Malfoy?" she asked.___

_He looked up. "Oh, sorry, this is your bench, isn't it?" he said. He stood up and started to walk away. How very 'unDraco' like. ___

_She said, "I don't own this bench, just because you found me here the last time. You may sit back down."___

_"How nice of you," he said, rather glibly.___

_He sat back down, crossed his legs, and put one arm across the back of the bench. He looked off over at some children playing on some swings. She stood there (like an idiot) for a few seconds and then sat down on the other end of the bench. She decided not to ask him about his foul mood. She was going to let him at it, if that's what he wanted. She picked up her book and began to read.___

_"Do you ever want that?" he asked. She looked at him. He cocked his head toward the playing children, to indicate what he meant.___

_"Children?" she asked.___

_"Yes, do you want children?" he asked.___

_She closed her book and really thought about it for a moment, (not that she hadn't thought about it before.) She said, "Sure, someday, if I get married, and am settled in my career, I would like children."___

_"I don't want children," he said somberly.___

_"Why not?" It begged to be asked, so she asked.___

_"Just don't, never did, don't really like children," he said, uncrossing his legs and putting his hands back in his lap. "I didn't like children when I was one, why would I like them now."___

_"It will be different when you have your own, you will like them, I'm sure," she said. She opened her book back up. ___

_He scooted closer to her. "Do you want to get married?"___

_She smiled, put her book down and said, "Are you proposing?" She laughed. He couldn't help but smile. ___

_"Someday I might, right now I just want to know if you want to get married, to anyone, someday?" he clarified.___

_She closed her book again. She looked over at a young couple in love, holding hands, walking across a bridge that went over a pond. She said, "If I could find someone who could stand me, maybe."___

_"That could prove difficult," he joked.___

_"How about you, bachelor for life, or marriage someday?" she asked him. She turned on the bench so she was facing him. He put his left arm back over the back of the bench. ___

_"I don't think about that often, but maybe, someday," he said seriously. "If the conditions were right."___

_"What, like a large dowry and a pure blood line?" she asked, not joking.___

_"No, love, Granger," he answered.___

_"You mean you would marry if you were in love, right?" she asked. "Because, I know I want to be in love when I marry."___

_"I already am, in love, not married," he said.___

_"It doesn't count if you are in love with yourself," she said with a laugh. She wondered what he meant by that.___

_He looked at her closely and said, "Oh well, then, I guess I'm not in love." He meant her, but she wouldn't want to know that.___

_"I think marriage could be wonderful with the right person," she said. "You would have a built in best friend. Someone who knows all you insecurities, but doesn't play on them, who can finish your sentences, knows your weaknesses and strengths. Who loves you when you first wake up in the morning with stinky breath and matted hair."___

_"My breath is always sweet, and look at my hair, Granger," he said. She gave him a lopsided grin. He grinned back. He now turned on the bench so he was also facing her. The hand that was resting on the back of the bench moved slightly, so his thumb touched her shoulder. He rubbed it back and forth for a moment and said, "My mother and father want me to get married."___

_"My mother and father are always on me about that, too," she said. He stopped moving his thumb, and put his hand on the back of her neck. She felt lightheaded and giddy for a moment. She had a tickling in her stomach whenever he touched her like that. She didn't know why. ___

_"No, my mother and father want me to get married soon. They found a wife for me, and I'm expected to marry by next summer," he said. He removed his hand from her neck and moved to sit facing forward on the bench. His hands went back to his lap. She mimicked his movements and looked straight ahead.___

_"Oh," was the only thing she could think to say.___

_"Yeah, I know," he answered.___

_She turned again, and this time, she put her right hand up and rested it on his shoulder, which shocked him. He was always looking for little excuses to touch her, but what was her excuse? "But, you are an adult, Malfoy. You don't have to do everything your parents tell you to do. It archaic and old-fashioned. Just put your foot down and say, sorry Mummy and Daddy, but I'm a big boy and I will marry when I fall in love."___

_He threw his head back and laughed. "I don't call my mother and father Mummy and Daddy."___

_"Okay," she said, "Then say, 'Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, but I regret to inform you that I am of legal age and I shall seek a wife when I am desperately, and hopelessly, in love, and not a moment sooner'. That would work." She smiled again.___

_He couldn't help himself. He reached up and touched her cheek quickly, and withdrew his hand just as quick. "Maybe you could come and tell them for me," he said.___

_"I will if you want," she played along.___

_"What if they say the only way they would let me out of this arranged marriage is if you guaranteed them that I would marry someone within the next five years," he said.___

_"Why five years?" she asked, confused.___

_"That's my father's deadline. I'm disowned at age thirty if I am not married," he said.___

_"That's awful," she said. "Then you will just have to find a pretend wife or something, marry her, get your fortune, and then divorce. Everything has a loophole." ___

_His hands clasped the edge of the park bench. His pinky was touching her jeans. He said, "Would you pretend to be my wife? Just for my money, of course."___

_"Sure, if you and I married, the divorce would seem much more believable," she said. ___

_"Would you really do that for me?" he asked. His hand went over her thigh and clasped her hand.___

_She had a look of utter terror on her face. He smirked. He was, but of course, joking. There were no such conditions that he marry in five years. He had already received his inheritance, however, he wasn't joking when he said his parents had arranged a marriage for him. He finally put her out of her misery and said, "I am joking, Granger, but heavens, if you could see the look of sheer horror on your face, well, if nothing else, you managed to cheer me up. Thanks."___

_She took her book and hit him over the head with it. Thank goodness, it was a paperback. He grabbed the book out of her hand and said, "Romance novel, Granger?"___

_She reached over for the book, but he blocked her with his arm. He moved so his back was facing her, and he opened up the book and started to read, "Lydia's ample bosom swelled upward, as Roger crushed her to his chest. He said, 'You are mine, and I shall have you.' Lydia tried to protest, but as she opened her mouth, he crashed his onto hers, muffling the sound in her throat." ___

_"Give me my book!" Hermione said. She couldn't help but laugh, because the lines sounded funny coming from him and because only Draco would open the book right up to a sex scene. He stood up, and she continued to try to reach for the book. He ran away from her slightly.___

_He read, "He moaned, his rod growing ever longer and harder from want for the young lass." He looked at Hermione and said, "Rod? What's a rod, Granger? Do I have one of those?" He turned to run again, and she started to chase him.___

_He stopped in the middle of a wide-open space and opened the book again. She said, "Give it to me, Malfoy!"___

_"Wait, I will give it to you later, if you want, and by 'it' I mean my rod, but right now I want to read about Roger giving it to Lydia first," he said. He read silently, chuckling every once in a while. "Oh, he's ensconced in her velvety walls right now," he laughed. Hermione sat down on the ground. Fine, let him read. He sat down next to her.___

_"Oh my stars, Granger!" he said, looking at her with wide eyes. "Real people do not talk like this!"___

_"It's a book, you moron, so it's not real people," she said. ___

_He read, "Lydia's skin became flushed and glistened with passion's sweet sweat. Her long silky tresses fell over his face as he lifted her up and she rode him for all she was worth. Hum." He read silently for a while and said, "Lydia is quite the hussy, isn't she, Granger. You should read what she's letting him do now. Oh, you have probably already read this, since this page had obviously been turned down before. Saving the place, so when you are alone at night, and you need a 'friend', you can grab your trusty book and read about Roger and Lydia?" He handed the book back to her.___

_She decided she wasn't going to let him get to her today, nor was she going to say anything mean. He was down when she first appeared at the bench, and now he was smiling, and the last time they were in the park, it was the other way around, and he helped her, so this was his free pass to have fun at her expense. She said, "Make fun of me all you want, Malfoy." She opened her book, and laid down on her back on the cold grass. She put her book over her head and started to read.___

_"You will get sick on the cold ground, Granger," he said. He moved to lay next to her, on his side, head on his elbow.___

_She looked over at him and said, "You will, too." He grabbed the book from her and to her surprise, he opened it up and read some more. He sat up and read. She stayed on her back. Well now, what was she suppose to do if he took her book? She looked up at the bright blue autumn sky and then shut her eyes. She felt a hand touch her shoulder.___

_She looked up and Draco was leaning over her, book open, pointing to a word, and he asked, "What does that word mean?"___

_She laughed, and took the book from him. "I was going to be nice, because you seemed sad today and out of sorts, and you helped me the last time I was in this park, all sad and alone, but no, I have to say this." She remained on the ground, but screamed out, "You are a prat!" She laughed again and sat up.___

_He suddenly tackled her, which surprised her greatly. Her book went flying out of her hands, and he leaned over her. He held himself up by his hands, so that he was only marginally touching her. "I really don't know what that word means, and you aren't very nice if you won't educate me."___

_She pushed him over, and he fell on his back. She sat beside him and she said, "You know what it means!" ___

_He put his hand up on her back, under her coat, and said, "I really don't, tell me. If you don't want to tell me, you could show me." His hand began to move up and down on her jumper. She turned and gave him a scathing look. He wondered if he pushed the teasing too far, for he might have really offended her. She got up on her knees just as he sat back up. ___

_She felt playful and so she pushed him back over, leaned over him, and she said, "Have your new wife show you, although I have to say, if you really don't know what that word means, or even what one looks like, she probably won't be your wife for very long." She stood up and looked down at him.___

_"Shocking, Granger, just shocking!" he stood up too, and brushed off his pants. "And you called me the pervert."___

_"I called you a prat!" she argued, pointing her finger at him. ___

_He grabbed her finger and held it in his hand. He said, "I think you said pervert." He let her finger go.___

_"I know what I said," she said. She turned around and leaned over to pick up her book. She felt his hand brush against the backside of her jeans. She turned quickly and said, "What the hell!"___

_"You had mud on your backside," he said with an impish grin.___

_"You are a pervert!" she said.___

_"See, I knew you said it." He started back toward the bench.___

_"I just now said it." She sat back down.___

_"That doesn't negate the fact that you said it." He sat next to her.___

_"That doesn't negate the fact that you are one." She opened the book. ___

_"Let's see what happened after Roger and Lydia's little adventure," he said. He took the book from her hand and opened it back to the place she had previously marked. He continued to read aloud, without commentating this time, and she continued to listen, only blushing once in a while, when he would look at her and smile.__  
_


	40. Chapter 39

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 39 - ****  
**  
_(Flashback, after the photo shoot, before Draco is ambushed by Anthony at the Ministry:)_

_After the photo shoot, Draco stayed for an interview, as Hermione left to go back to the office. He finished with the interview, and was heading back to his office, when he saw Anthony Goldstein across the street. Anthony motioned at Draco to follow him. He didn't particularly trust the man, especially after what Blaise and Hermione told him, but his curiosity was such that he really wanted to know what the man wanted.___

_Draco ran across the street, and said, "What's up, Goldstein?"___

_"Tell me the truth, Malfoy, are you and Hermione really apart, or is this an act?" he asked.___

_"What do you care?" he asked back.___

_"Answer the question," Anthony said, his face suddenly red with anger.___

_"Go to hell, Goldstein," Draco said. ___

_Draco started to walk away and Anthony said, "She's in danger, you know. I told you the other night at the 'meet and greet' that she had a habit of having accidents. Don't you remember the day the shelf almost fell on her, about a year ago. That wasn't an accident. Someone was trying to hurt her."___

_"Are you making threats?" Draco asked suddenly, rushing up to the man and pushing him into the wall. ___

_"NO!" Anthony hissed. "I have been trying to help her for over a year now! That's why I insisted that we pretend to continue to date! That's why I tried to get her to drop out of the race. That's why I convinced you to run against her, so that either you would win, or she would drop out. That's why Ron and I lied about being together. We hoped she would be so upset, and so shocked, that she would resign her position. Frankly, short of kidnapping her until the damn election is over, I am at my wit's end!" ___

_"Let's go somewhere less conspicuous and talk," Draco said, his wand under Anthony's chin. Draco reached for the man's jacket, and apparated them directly to his house. He pushed Anthony down to sit on the sofa, and kept his wand on him. "Talk, Goldstein, you have ten minutes," Draco said.___

_"Before I say anything, tell me, are you and Hermione together or not?" ___

_"Did you set up that photographer, at Harry's house?" Draco asked, instead of answering the question.___

_"Yes, I did," Anthony said. ___

_"Then you should know the answer. Granger thinks I had something to do with it, and she blames me, so we are no longer together, thanks to you," Draco lied. ___

_"Good, keep it that way," Anthony said. He stood to leave. Draco touched the middle of his back with his wand.___

_"You don't think our discussion is over yet, do you, Goldstein?" Draco asked.___

_Anthony turned around. He said, "Listen Malfoy, all I have ever wanted was to keep her safe. I have been trying to get her to concede from this election since the beginning, and I thought once I convinced you to run, she would surely quit. I don't know what else I can do, but I have to get her to drop out, any way I can."___

_"Why?" Draco asked.___

_"Damn Malfoy, I can't tell you everything right now, but things aren't what they appear. Someone out there is trying to kill the Minister, because they want him out of office. If Hermione replaces him, they will do the same to her. I am being blackmailed to help them. If I don't help them, they will let the Minister die, and they will kill Hermione. This person will do it, too."___

_"We should tell Potter," Draco said.___

_"Fuck, Potter. He can't help. I am in over my head," Anthony said. "I am poisoning the Minister of Magic, but not because I want to, but still, don't you think the head Auror will frown on that a bit."___

_"So what you told Blaise wasn't a lie," Draco said.___

_Anthony looked baffled. "I don't know to what you are referring, but I won't say anymore right now. I may be the one poisoning the Minister, but I am also the one at liberty to save him, if I can be sure that Percy is no longer Minister, and that Hermione does not succeed him." Anthony sat back down. "It would have been so easy, if when Percy first asked her to be his successor, if she had just said no. She didn't want this post. I thought for sure she would say no, that's why I suggested her. I tried to get Percy to back me for the post, but he wouldn't. Therefore, I convinced you to run, knowing that would turn Hermione away, but she is still running. I finally thought things were going my way when she thought you were playing dirty again. I thought with her reputation ruined, she would back out, but nothing is working."___

_"You are ranting, man, and not making sense," Draco said.___

_"I can't tell you more, except that for more than just appearances sake, you two must remain apart. In addition, I am afraid that Potter is getting too close to the truth, so I need to divert him. That's where you come in," Anthony said. "I promise to tell you all I know, in exchange for your help, and in the long run, it will keep Hermione safe, I promise."___

_"What do I have to do?" Draco asked.___

_"First, stay away from her. Don't go see her. Don't go to her house or to the office. Don't go to the black tie event with her. Next, I need you to meet me at the Ministry tonight, in the stairwell, I will have to appear to hex you, and you will have to let Potter find you in the morning. Tell him that I attacked you. That will keep Potter's attention on me, and buy me some time. If you agree to that, I will make a wizard's oath to you to tell you the truth, and to try to keep Hermione safe."___

_"Why should I trust you?" Draco asked. "Tell me your secrets first, and I will decide if they are worth my helping you."___

_Anthony stood up and said, "Trust me or not, but I will proceed with or without you." He reached in his pocket. Draco pointed his wand higher. Anthony said, "I just need to get you something, a token of trust, if you will." He reached in his coat pocket and threw a tin of tea at Draco. Draco caught it with his free hand. "Here, this is the real tea that was in the Minister's office, from the tea fairy to you. That's your proof. It has my fingerprints all over it, and it has the poisoned tea in it. If I double cross you, or if I refuse to tell you the truth later, you can use it against me. Go ahead and put it somewhere safe. If I see you in the stairwell at the Ministry tonight, I will know you agree to my plans." Anthony stood up and walked out.___

_Draco looked at the tin of tea in his hand, and sat down. He had a lot to consider._

Present Day:

Draco Malfoy was watching Neville Longbottom and Hermione. He couldn't clearly make out what they were doing, but it appeared that he was looking at her corsage. She still seems distracted and upset. Draco thought she might be crying. He wished he could get closer, to see what was going on. Blaise came up and took Hermione's hand, and ushered her away.

Neville looked quickly back over to Blaise and Hermione. Blaise had her hand in his, and he was leading her away from the crowd. Neville looked around for Harry. He saw him, and at that moment, Harry looked up and waved. As soon as he waved, he saw Neville's concerned expression, and he excused himself from his date, and rushed over to Neville. Neville whispered something to Harry. Harry looked over toward Blaise and Hermione. Draco excused himself from his 'date' and walked over to Harry and Neville, to find out what was taking place.

Blaise had Hermione near the hallway. He saw Draco, Neville and Harry together, and he wasn't pleased.

Hermione sat down in a chair at a table near the wall. She said, "You know, Blaise, I don't think I feel very well."

He sat down next to her and said, "What's wrong?"

"I feel nauseated, and flushed." She put her hand up to her chest. He put his hand on her cheek. "I think I am having trouble breathing."

"Your skin feels clammy. Come on, why don't we go up to your office for a bit, until you feel better," and he helped her to stand. She didn't argue. She truly felt ill.

_Flashback:___

_Hermione was getting ready for a press conference, in which she was to announce that she was awarding one million galleons to the orphans of St Mungos. She was so excited and giddy, that she felt she could hardly contain herself. Harry had the actual check locked up in his office, and she would present it tonight at the banquet. Today, all she had to do was tell the press about the gift. ___

_She was looking forward to the banquet. At first, she was nervous about what she was going to wear, but thanks to none other than Draco Malfoy, she had a beautiful midnight blue gown to wear, and her speech was all prepared, and nothing could ruin this day short of a meteor hitting her on the head or something. She started to sing, some silly song, as she looked through her top desk drawer for a quill. She had a fancy, golden quill, which she wanted to use tonight when she signed over the check. She couldn't find the quill in her desk. Perhaps it was in her file cabinet. She walked over to the file cabinet, which was against the wall. She looked in the top drawer, then the middle drawer, and lastly, she bent down to look in the bottom drawer. ___

_Draco Malfoy stopped by Hermione's office to see how she was since her little 'accident' in the department of records. Her door was open, and he heard her singing. She must be happy. How strange. That would change when she read the article in the Daily Prophet about his donation to St Mungos. It was twice what she was going to present. Yes, it was a good thing they went back to 'hating' each other, because she was certainly going to be angry when she heard about his donation.___

_He leaned in her doorway, and watched as she leaned over to look in a file cabinet. It was a nice view, after all. He wanted to reach out and touch that little round rump of hers, but he had to behave, for now. She straightened up, still not aware of his presence. ___

_She went over to a bookshelf, pulled her desk chair up to the shelf, and climbed on top of the chair. He smiled. The chair had wheels, and she was bound to fall. In fact, she almost did, but she hung on to a shelf for support. She reached up, for a box, and that's when he had to let her know he was there. The little fool was going to kill herself. He walked in and said, "What are you looking for, your dignity?" She turned on the chair, and the next thing she knew, she really did fall.___

_He was by her side in dash. He had her in his arms. "Well, this is quaint."___

_"Put me down, Malfoy!" she seethed.___

_"Wait, I meant to say it was cozy, not quaint," he said, rocking her back and forth in his arms.___

_"I really want you to let me down!" she said.___

_"Perhaps I don't mean either word, what word am I looking for, Granger?" he asked. He looked at her angry, red, face and said, "You are good at words, tell me what word am I looking for, won't you?"___

_"Let me down or I will give you more than just a word to describe this situation!" she bellowed.___

_"No, I think I will keep you here in my arms until your little press conference this afternoon. Let the press see that you would be dead by now if it wasn't for the fact that I am always saving your arse."___

_She sighed and said, "What do you want?" He sat down in her chair, but kept her on his lap. She tried to stand, but he held on tight. ___

_"What are you looking for, Granger?" he asked. She smelled good today. Like blueberry jam. She pulled on his arms and finally moved from his lap.___

_"I need a quill in that top box." She pointed to the top of the shelf. He stood from her chair.___

_"Oh, well, go on and get it then," he said.___

_She thought he might be polite and offer to get it for her, but no, that would only happen if he were a normal human being. She stood back on the chair, put her hand on top of his head to steady herself, which made him smile, and she reached for the box. He ran his hand up and down her leg. ___

_"Stop it!" she spat. She got the box and threw it on the floor. She put her hand back on his shoulder, and stepped down off the chair. She opened the box, and removed the quill.___

_"Is that for me?" he asked, "Because I seem to recall you still owe me a quill from college."___

_"No, this is the quill I am going to use to sign a very large check which I am presenting to St Mungos tonight, if you must know. There is a press conference concerning the donation in ten minutes, so I don't see the harm in telling you this," she said. She walked back over to her desk, opened the top drawer, and took out a mirror. She looked at her reflection and put on some lipstick.___

_"It won't help, you will still look like you, you know," he said. "And I know all about your press conference. I just mentioned it to you, remember?"___

_Her gaze on him narrowed and she frowned. "You are detestable. Leave my office. There's no reason for you to be here."___

_"I came for a very specific reason," he said, sitting on the edge of her desk. He took the mirror out of her hands and threw it across the room. He said, "I want you to read this article in the Daily Prophet, before your little news conference."___

_She held out her hand, for the paper, and asked, "What's it about, anyway?"___

_He said, "Oh, all about me, actually."___

_He handed her the paper, but she put it back on her desk. She said, "I don't care to see it then, now leave. I have to go down to the press conference, and I don't want you left in my office. You might muck it up, or spread your pureblood germs all around it."___

_He laughed and said, "Where are the journalist when I need them? They should hear how prejudice you are against purebloods. First, you want to tax us at a higher rate, and now you think we have more germs than you do."___

_She said, "Oh, Malfoy that was my lame attempt at humour." He laughed at the fact that she was putting herself down. She stood up and said, "Leave, now."___

_He sat at her desk. "I would rather stay."___

_"Fine, stay." She went down the hall. She didn't want to be late for the press conference.___

_She went down to the atrium of the Ministry, where the press and some of the officials from St Mungos and the Ministry had already converged. The formal presentation was to be held tonight, but the announcement for the press was today. Anthony introduced her, and she walked up to the podium. She spoke about all that they had done to raise this money, and how it was a cause near and dear to her heart. She saved the best for last. At the very end of her little spill, she announced she was going to present St Mungos with a check later tonight for one million galleons.___

_Everyone applauded. Several of the St Mungos administrators smiled and shook hands with the Ministry officials. Hermione was absolutely beaming, that was, until a reporter, a young woman, raised her hand.___

_"Did you decide to donate this money to St Mungos before or after Draco Malfoy decided to donate to the same charity?" ___

_Hermione felt like someone had punched her in the gut. She turned to Anthony. He shrugged. The same reporter said, "It was reported in the Daily Prophet today that Draco Malfoy was giving two million galleons to the exact same charity, so it reasons that either you are imitating him, or he is imitating you. Which is it?"___

_Hermione was still temporarily speechless. Anthony came to the podium and said that Hermione had worked hard for months to raise this money with the intention always to give it to St Mungos. He wrapped up the news conference, and then he told all the reporters that they were invited to take pictures at the banquet later.___

_Hermione was still in shock. Harry came up and took her hand. She looked at Harry, with eyes brimmed with tears, and he said, "It's okay, honey." He didn't know what else to say. She looked back toward the crowd, as everyone began to mingle and disperse. She saw Draco Malfoy talking to the same young reporter. He looked up at that moment, winked at Hermione, and smiled. He did not like that he had surprised her like that. If only she had read the article first, like he wanted her to.___

_She turned in a huff and headed toward the lifts.___

_She was currently walking with Harry Potter, down the corridor on sublevel three of the Ministry, heading for her office.___

_"I thoroughly hate that man!" Hermione shouted, slinging her office door open and kicking her shoes off her feet. She walked around to her desk and put her head down on her arms. "I hate him, hate him, hate him!" she said, banging her fists up and down on the desk.___

_Her assistant looked confused for a moment, until Harry Potter walked in the office. "She's ranting about Draco Malfoy," Harry explained.___

_"Of course, I should have known," her assistant said with a smile. She walked up to Hermione and said, "Don't forget, you have to go to St Mungos later, for the dedication to the children's ward."___

_"Fine, I remember," she said, waving the woman away with her hands.___

_Harry picked up the current issue of the Daily Prophet and said, "I'd like to know where they come up with this rubbish." On the front page was an article about Draco Malfoy, and the fact that he had just donated two million galleons to a war orphans college fund. The problem was that Hermione had worked hard to raise one million galleons for the same charity. She had worked for weeks, soliciting funds, raising money, silent auctions, a marathon, and the night before she was to present them with the check, Draco Malfoy, offered them two million galleons, from his own money! Now if she offered them her money, it would seem that she was copying him, and also, the fact that his donation was a million more than hers, would belittle her offer considerably.___

_"Hermione, you know, your offer will still help the charity significantly. I know its rotten luck that Draco took your glory, but you had to know this would be a dirty election the minute you decided to run against him for Minister of Magic."___

_Hermione took the paper from Harry's hand and threw it in the fireplace. "If I didn't run, he would be your new Minister. Would you like that, Mr. Potter? I really do hate him."___

_"I know you do, Granger," said a voice from the doorway. "Is she very angry?" he asked Harry.___

_"Let's put it this way, Malfoy, enter at your own risk," Harry said. He turned to Hermione and said, "Shall I stay?"___

_"No, I don't want any witnesses," she said. ___

_Harry smiled, patted her cheek, and turned to Draco. "It's your funeral, Malfoy. See you later, Hermione."___

_Hermione sat at her desk and looked up at Draco. "What do you want?"___

_"I wanted to come and see if we could arrange a little debate, you and I, to be hosted by the Daily Prophet, you know, your views against the right views, mine. Let the constituents see both candidates, so they can make a valued opinion on who they want as the next Minister of Magic." He sat in a chair by her desk and put his feet on the corner.___

_She walked over, pushed his feet off and said, "Get out of my office!"___

_"This is an office? Really? I thought it was a cubbyhole. So, about our debate," he asked.___

_"No," she said. She pulled on his arm, to make him leave her chair. He hit her hand away. ___

_"Stop touching me, Granger," he laughed. "I might get your germs." She had said the same thing to him earlier, about pureblood germs.___

_"Hello, Mudblood in the room," she waved her hand in front of his face.___

_"I meant your uptight, liberal germs. I like Mudbloods now, at least, if I'm asked that question by the media, I do," he laughed. She glared at him. He stood up. "Come now, are you still upset that my rather large donation overshadowed your little paltry donation?"___

_"My donation was one million galleons, and you must have had a spy or something to know what charity we were going to present it to. You are despicable, and I truly hate you," she said. ___

_"You can still give them your money, unless you were just doing it for show, and not out of the goodness of your heart," he offered.___

_He was right. She would have to do that. "Your right."___

_"Goodness, where's the media when you need them! I will never hear you say that one again. Our debate is next weekend, at the Milton Hotel Ballroom. I'll have my campaign manager owl you the time and the guidelines," he said, standing to leave.___

_"I'm not debating you," she said. She sat back in her seat.___

_"You concede already? Splendid. Then may I take you out for a victory lunch? Your treat?" he asked.___

_She stood up, stomped her foot like a five year old, and pointed at her door. "Leave my office!"___

_He smiled again and said, "See you later, Granger." He started to leave, but turned back around and said, "Oh, and by the way, even if you really do hate me, which I really don't think you do, I really do love you." He turned back around and laughed as he exited her office. She picked up one of her shoes from the floor, leaned out her office doorway, and chucked it right at his head. He turned in time to catch the blasted thing, and yelled out, "Seeker's reflexes, remember?" He tossed the shoe in the air, caught it again, and took it with him in the lifts, still laughing for all he was worth, which was a lot.___

_She slammed her office door so hard that the glass in the door shattered into hundreds of pieces._

Present Day:

Blaise escorted Hermione to her office. He shut the door. She had a frosted window in her door. He watched as she walked over to her sofa, and sat down. He wished that there wasn't a window on the door. Even though it was frosted glass, he was afraid someone might see in. He didn't want anyone to know they were there.

He sat next to her and said, "Shall I get you some water?"

She nodded. He dashed out her door, left it opened, and went to get some water. As soon as he left, Anthony appeared at the door.

"What are you doing here, Anthony?" she asked. She was somewhat afraid, but she knew Blaise was just down the hall, and she had her wand in her pocket, if she needed it.

"I need you to come with me, Hermione, right now. Don't ask questions," Anthony said. He pulled her arm, to force her to stand.

"Leave me alone, Blaise is right down the hall," she said. She wobbled slightly, and had to put her free hand on his arm, to keep from falling.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked. That was when he noticed the flower. He said, "Who gave you that?"

"What?" she asked. She couldn't understand what he was asking. His voice sounded as if it was in a tunnel. Her vision had become blurred as well. She tried to pull away from him, but she faltered. Anthony reached for the corsage, and tried to pull it off her dress, but she hit his hand away. "Stop it!" she said.

"I have to get this off you," he said. He tried to pull the corsage once more, but ripped her dress down the front. Her pretty, new, white dress. Draco didn't even get to see her up close in it, either.

She pulled the front of the dress back up, over her strapless bra, and said, "What is wrong with you? Do you know half of the Aurors are looking for you? You are in enough trouble. You don't need to add assault of me to the long list of charges."

Blaise came rushing in the room, just as Anthony was once again trying to rip the flower from her now torn gown. Blaise pulled out his wand and said, "Let her go, Goldstein!"

Anthony pulled Hermione up to his chest, and put his arm around her waist. "What are you playing at? You aren't supposed to hurt her! You at least could wait until after the election. See if she wins or not. This could still go your way, without hurting her."

Blaise looked bewildered and said, "What the bloody hell are you rambling on about, Goldstein? Come here, Hermione." Anthony pulled out his wand and pointed it toward Blaise.

Hermione said, "Can you two fight over me while I sit on the couch? I think I am going to pass out now," and that's exactly what she did. She slumped forward, while Anthony held her firmly around the waist.

"I think this is the part in the story where you run and hide, Zabini. Malfoy knows everything. You won't get away with this." Anthony tried hard to keep Hermione upright.

"I really don't know what you are talking about, but you need to let me get her to the hospital," Blaise pleaded.

"You are the one that poisoned her!" Anthony said. He had to turn, to lay her on the couch. Blaise came up to the couch as well.

"What do you mean, I poisoned her?" Blaise asked.

"The flower, you arse! I can't even remove it!" Anthony said, as he tried manually to remove it once more.

"That is just a flower. I was given it to give to her, and I really don't know what you are babbling about, but I swear, I will hex you to next week if you don't let me have her so I can get her to the hospital!" Blaise said. He placed his wand under Anthony's chin. Anthony stood up, raised his arms, and dropped his wand.

From the door, someone shouted, "I'll be taking your wand as well, Zabini!" The man disarmed Blaise. Blaise and Anthony both turned toward the man in the doorway. He said, "Now, will one of you pick up Hermione, and then we can all get out of here, together. I think now would be a good time, because Potter and Malfoy are on their way."


	41. Chapter 40 Not the End

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 40 –**

Present Day:

Howard Spine? The bad guy was Howard Spine. No bloody way. Where did that come from? Did anyone even remember the man? Yet, there he was, in the doorway of her office, his old office, with his wand pointed at both Blaise and Anthony. A man who had never shown any tendencies toward deceit before, had never shown any hatred toward any of the participants, and was indeed, once portrayed as a decent man. He just could not be the bad guy, could he? As he stood in the doorway of her office, his wand pointing at Anthony and Blaise, one thing was certain, and it was this: Nothing in life was certain.

"Anthony, pick up Hermione and you two come this way, and hurry," Howard said.

"Howard, why are you here?" Anthony asked.

"What's going on?" Blaise asked, looking from Anthony to the man at the door. He had never seen this man before. He looked back toward Anthony, who seemed just as befuddled as he did. He looked back to Mr. Spine and said, "I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what in the world is going on here."

"Fine, stay here," Howard said. He cursed Blaise on the spot. He fell over in a heap, unconscious, on the floor.

"What are you doing here?" Anthony asked. "I told you I would handle Blaise and Hermione!"

"We don't have time for this, Goldstein. You were supposed to take care of all of this, and you haven't, so it's my turn to take care of it. Now, grab Hermione and let's go. They will be here any second," Howard said. He stepped over Blaise, picked up the man's wand, and added, "No one ever need know you and I were here."

"Fine, but let's leave Hermione, so they can take her to St Mungos. She's very ill," Anthony said.

"I should hope so. She is highly allergic to that flower on her chest, and even small doses are lethal, but the longer it is on her, the more toxins that are released into her airway. How poetic, the same poison that is killing the Minister of Magic, will also kill the possible future Minister of Magic. I made sure Zabini got that flower when he ordered her corsage," Howard said. He looked down at Hermione. "I always rather liked her, too."

"If you care for her, leave her here," Anthony said again.

Howard clicked his tongue and said, "She has to die now, you made that clear to me when you said that she and Draco Malfoy are still seeing each other, and that she was never going to drop out of the election. At this point, it does not matter who wins, because if she wins, she passes the pure blood lineage act, and once again, she steals all my glory! If he wins, he keeps her as Undersecretary, and he will pass the law, just for her. Don't you see it no longer matters? She must die. If he becomes Minister after she dies, he won't even know about the amendment, or the fact that she is trying to reconstitute it. You said it yourself, nothing else worked. Not ruining her reputation, not breaking down her friends, like with you and Weasley, not public embarrassment, not even her love for Malfoy." Howard walked toward the doorway. "Now, get your wand from the floor, pick her up and let's go."

The moment Howard turned his back Anthony cursed him. The man fell over right on Blaise. Anthony turned around, and tried to remove the flower from Hermione by magic. When it would not remove, he finished ripping her dress, and tore the whole dress from her body. With her dress in one hand, and his other hand on Howard Spine's arm, he disapparated.

Harry had called all on duty Aurors. They were searching the building for Blaise Zabini. Harry and Draco ran down the hall, toward her office. Harry ran in first, and fell right over Blaise Zabini's body. Draco came to a halt, sliding into the doorway. He saw Blaise and Harry on the floor, and a seemingly unconscious Hermione Granger on the couch, sans gown.

Harry stood up, and said, "There's a private floo in the Minister's office. Take her there and get her to St. Mungos. I will be right there with Blaise.

He ran with her limp body in his arms. He was void of all thoughts and feelings, and aware of only one thing. He loved her. He gained the courage to look down at her only once. She was covered in hives, her body was cold, she was diaphoretic, and her breathing came out in short, little, wheezes. He stepped through the fireplace, and said, "St. Mungos".

_Flashback:___

_Draco Malfoy thought that Ron Weasley was a git. He heard that after the Yule ball, he had made Hermione Granger cry. What an idiot. She looked so pretty that night. He wasn't the only one who thought so. He remembered hearing several others proclaiming the exact same sentiment. When he passed by two Ravenclaws, he thought their names were Goldstein and Corner, he heard them say how pretty she looked.___

_Even Blaise Zabini, often thought to be one of the most reclusive boys in school, told Draco that he thought she looked pretty that night. As he sat in the library, looking at her study, the day after the ball, he realized one thought. She was the prettiest girl in school, and she was a Mudblood.___

_Too bad, all things considering. He had always thought, nay, was taught, that Mudbloods and half bloods were inferior to him and his kind, below them, not worthy of their magic. Yet, something about the way she looked last night did not make her seem inferior at all. She looked far superior to most of the girls who were there last night. He also noted the fact that she was the smartest witch in their class. What did all of that mean? What did it mean if a Mudblood like Granger was prettier and smarter than all the other witches, especially more than most (all) of the purebloods, he knew. Did that mean that everything he had ever been taught, and ever believed, was a lie?___

_Draco Malfoy was confused.___

_He looked back over at her. He remembered after the ball was over, he was sneaking off to spy on a couple of sixth years, whom he had heard were snogging, when he saw her and Krum. Victor Krum, international Quidditch star, and her date, kissed her cheek and wished her a goodnight. She bid him farewell, and then, when she thought no one was looking, she held her hand up to the area the man kissed, smiled, and twirled around in a circle, her pretty periwinkle dress fanning out around her. He wished he were the one to make her twirl and smile. He really did.___

_Nevertheless, a thought like that was just a dream, a folly. He could never care for a lowly Mudblood, especially the best friend of Harry 'the wanker' Potter. She would never care for him either.___

_However, she did look very pretty last night._

Present Day:

Harry walked into her room at St Mungos. Draco was by her bed, holding her hand. Harry said, "Will she be okay?"

Draco nodded. He stood up and said, "Where is Blaise Zabini?" He said it with such control and restraint, that Harry was concerned. He knew that restraint was all an act.

"Why do you want to know?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to kill him," Draco said, with such a lack of emotion or passion that at first Harry thought he was joking. When Draco leaned down and kissed her head and said, "I'll be back after I murder Blaise, love," Harry knew he was serious.

Harry said, "Before you kill anyone, you might want to hear what Blaise Zabini just told me under the influence of Veritaserum."

Draco looked over at the still sleeping Hermione and said, "Sure, tell me what the bastard said, but I will undoubtedly still want to murder him, if not now, possibly in the morning." He stood and waited. Harry thought his lack of feeling eerie, at best, but everyone handled stress in different ways.

Harry said, "Blaise Zabini was hired by Anthony Goldstein, but not to dig up dirt on you, as he first stated. He hired him to persuade, and he used that word loosely, mind you, but to persuade Hermione to drop out of the race. He claims that Anthony really is the one poisoning the Minister, and that he figured from the start that Anthony was not working alone, but he couldn't prove as much."

Harry went to sit down on a hard plastic chair in the corner of the room. He took off his tuxedo jacket, and lifted up his glasses, to pinch the space between his eyes. Draco came and sat beside him. Harry continued, "He said that he found out, on his own, the reason Anthony wanted Hermione out of the race. It had something to do with the pureblood tax law passed two years ago, the trade embargo passed two years before that, and some other law, some pureblood lineage definition act, which never made it off the floor of the Wizengamot, but which Hermione was supposed to try to pass again, if and when she became Minister."

Harry looked over to Hermione. "He said Anthony wanted that tax law overturned, and he wanted Percy to do so. Percy would not do it, so that was when he assumes Anthony started to poison him. He thought Percy would name him his successor, when he became too ill to continue. When he didn't, he asked Percy to name Hermione."

Draco frowned. "If he wanted Hermione named, why did he want her to drop out?"

"He wanted Hermione named," Harry said, "Because he assumed, incorrectly so, that Hermione would turn him down. She was never a fan of power, and because of that, he thought for sure that once she turned him down, Percy would have to name Anthony. She accepted, so his plan to stop her began. He tried everything to get her to drop out. He then went to you, because he thought she hated you. How blind could the man be? The rest of us knew you had loved her for years," Harry laughed, "and those close to her knew she loved you too, but he thought she hated you, so he thought once you started your campaign, she would drop out, and once again, he was a fool."

Draco said, "Of course he was a fool. Didn't he know that even if Granger did hate me, she wasn't one to give up on a challenge?"

"After all those years dating, he didn't know her at all," Harry agreed. "He must have convinced her to continue to pretend to date him, so he could stay close to her, try to anticipate her next move."

"When he found out you two were seeing each other, he did what he could to break you up. He again thought he succeeded, with the photographer and the hot tub incident," Harry stated. "He thought she would blame you, stop seeing you, and that you would be so angry, that he could convince you to turn over her little law, once you were elected."

"Anthony miscalculated her Gryffindor courage and tenacity. She wasn't about to give you up that easily," Harry said with confidence. "Blaise said he tried at every turn to make her bale out. He said that he finally thought Anthony had become unglued, when he started to talk about 'someone' wanting to hurt Hermione, because their plan was backfiring. He said that was when he suspected that Anthony was not working alone. He said that Anthony didn't want Hermione hurt, he wanted the antidote for the Minister, and that he feared it was all too late. That's when he went to you, apparently, and tried to get you to work with him. He knew he was in over his head."

"Blaise tried to find out who he was working with, but found out nothing," Harry said. "Blaise admitted to forging the conversation between Anthony and himself, the one Hermione overheard in the closet. He said he wanted to make Hermione aware of how dangerous Anthony was, even make him sound perhaps more dangerous than he was, so that she would no longer trust him, and so she would involve the Aurors, by involving me. The last time Blaise talked with Anthony, he told Blaise that he didn't want Percy to die, or any harm to come to Hermione. He said all he wanted in the beginning was power, and to help an old friend settle a score. He said he kept working toward the end, because he was promised the antidote for Percy, and the only thing Blaise knew was that the antidote was a Muggle concoction, because the poison was a Muggle poison, and that Anthony said he had tried to produce his own antidote, and was unsuccessful. He asked Blaise to try to keep Hermione safe, while he tried to obtain the antidote."

"He really didn't know who Anthony was working with, until tonight. He said that first, the corsage was ordered by him, from his usual florist, and he had no idea it was poisonous. Second, he said that Anthony came to her office tonight, tried to remove the flower from her dress, and seemed concerned for her well-being, and third, he said that whomever Anthony was working for must have been the man who cursed him. He said it was an older man, tall, good looking, slightly heavy, and that Anthony called him Howard."

Draco looked confused. "Howard?"

From over on the bed, Hermione said, "He must mean Howard Spine."

_Flashback:___

_Draco heard through the grapevine that Granger and Weasley's big 'blow up', the night of the Yule ball, apparently consisted of Granger calling the Weasel out on the fact that he didn't have the balls to ask her to the dance, but he had the unmitigated gall to act jealous. Good for her. He also heard that the stupid, witless, git, made her cry. The stupid arse. Did he really think someone like Granger would go to the dance with someone like him? Even a Mudblood like her was too good for him. He didn't care if Weaselbee was a pureblood; Granger was still worth 100 Weasleys, which was approximately how many people there were in the Weasley family. He would never be worthy of her.___

_Ask anyone.___

_Draco glanced back over at her, from his table in the library. She seemed to be daydreaming. She was no longer reading her book. Her head was resting in her hands, and she had a far off look on her face. Usually her nose was stuck right in a book, but of course. He still thought she was pretty, even when her nose was in a book, but he could scarcely admit that to himself, and he would rather die than admit it to anyone else.___

_Gone was the beautiful periwinkle gown that she had on last night. Gone were the mass of curls that was on top of her head. Gone were the makeup, and the red blush of her cheeks, and the sly smile, and the winter wonderland of the Yule ball. All of that was replaced by jeans and jumper, trainers, a head full of curls, which seemed slightly unmanageable, and actually seemed to have a life of its own. Gone were the blush and the smile, replaced by a pale complexion, freckles, and a slight grimace on her face. She even had a worry line between her brows, as she looked over at nothing in particular, and while her mind was far away. She had a pensive look on her face. None of it mattered, however, because he still thought she was beautiful.___

_Draco took out a piece of parchment. He took out a quill. He wrote:___

_"You were the prettiest girl at the ball last night, and I think you are even prettier today. I wish I had gotten to dance with you last night. Just one dance. Keep your chin up, and do not let the bastards get you down. Forget Weasley, he isn't in your league. Someday, when the book of your life is concluding, and your final epilogue is written, if there is a higher being, nowhere will there by a mention of Ron Weasley. Not for you. There's someone special out there for you." ___

_He folded it in two, and he started out of the library. ___

_When he passed her chair, he bumped it with his leg. She looked up. He said, "Watch it, Mudblood." She frowned at him. He walked by, smiling. He had slipped the note adroitly in her satchel. She would find it someday, and never know it was from him. He wanted her to know these things; he just didn't want to let her know it was from him._

Present Day:

Harry repeated everything to Hermione, and then he left to go try to find Anthony Goldstein and Howard Spine. He still didn't know what their connection was, and he didn't know who the real 'bad guy' was, but he would find out, for his best friend, he would find out.

Draco leaned on her bed and played with the fingers of her left hand. He said, "You certainly have a knack for needing saved, Granger."

"You certainly have a knack for saving me," she said.

He brushed his free hand against her forehead, and left it there, while he leaned over to kiss her lips. "So, I figure, you owe me. I have saved your life, or your personage, or at least your self-respect at least 20 times over the years. Give me my just rewards."

"You've caused a lot of the incidents in which I needed saving," she pointed out. He sat on her bed, and continued to play with her hand, keeping it captive between his.

"Ah, yes, I see you still have that faulty memory of yours. Too bad that little corsage didn't clear up your memory a bit," he said.

"For a poisonous corsage it was very pretty. You didn't get to see it up close. You also didn't get to see me in my pretty white dress," she whined. "It was ripped to pieces by Anthony. I did look pretty, too."

"I saw you from afar," he assured her.

"But I looked even better up close," she stated.

"Modest, much?" he asked.

"Coming from the King of Conceit," she smiled.

"Something like that might offend a lesser man, but I have such a great intellect, and such a great rapier wit, that I am hardly bothered by your little nicknames for me. And about the dress, it hardly matters, I will see you in a pretty white dress someday, I'm sure."

"Well, maybe the next black and white ball," she said, seriously.

He chucked and said, "Smartest witch, my arse. Go to sleep, Granger. Your mind is a muddled mess. Too many plant toxins roaming around your brain."

She hit his face, with a small slap, and said, "Seriously, look at me. I am all hivey, and splotchy, and at death's door and you expect me to acknowledge the fact that you just referred to marrying me someday. I mean, look at me. This isn't the best time, so I thought I would play dumb. I thought you of all people would recognize that."

"Funny, Granger," he said. "And I am looking at you, and I don't care if you are hivey, which I don't think is a word, or splotchy, and you aren't even in death's neighborhood, so don't be so dramatic. I will let you off the hook, right now, though. No marriage references until I am elected Minister."

"What if I'm elected?" she said.

"Then you have to propose to me, agreed?" he asked.

"It's a deal," she said. She shut her eyes, but he shook her shoulder. "Malfoy, I'm recovering, let me sleep."

"But we didn't get our dance," he said.

"I didn't know I had promised you a dance tonight. We weren't even supposed to acknowledge each other," she reasoned.

"I didn't mean tonight, I meant at the Yule ball, fourth year, Hogwarts. I wrote you a note, and I told you I wished that I had danced just one dance with you. Do you remember that note?" he asked. He looked away from her face.

She gasped and said, "That note was from you?"

"Well, sure, didn't you know?" he joked.

"I did look pretty that night, too, if I do say so, myself," she said.

"I think you look prettier right now," he said, truthfully. "I'd rather see you as you are now, because now you love me. I will always think you are beautiful, no matter what."

"Really?" she asked sincerely.

"Would I lie?" he asked back. He stood from the bed and offered her his hand.

"Is that a trick question?" she asked. She sat up, swung her feet to the floor, and took his offering. "I rather think you lie often and well, Malfoy."

He took her in his arms, and she rested her head against his chest. She was in a cotton hospital gown, she had bare feet, and he swore, she was more beautiful than that night so long ago, and even more than she was tonight. Her hands went up around his neck. She had to crane her neck to look up at him.

He swayed back and forth with her, to the silent music, which only played in his soul. "I'm not lying now, Granger."

She gave him a small smile and said, "How do I know that?"

He couldn't help but smile back. He brought both his hands up to her face, and grasped her face between them. He leaned down, kissed her softly and said, "I think that's your problem, not mine, but you're smart, you figured out the wedding dress reference, you can figure this out, too." He put his arms back around her, and with the slightest movements, he danced with her for the first time in his life. It was not just a dance, it was a testament to his love for her, and about that, and he would never lie.

_(Author's note: Congrats, to those who guessed Howard. I still seem to need time to wrap some things up, so probably two more chapters. We need the election results, too! That little bonus chapter took space, and I still need to tie up my loose ends, as to why Howard acted like he did, and why Anthony, who in the long run was still bad, and yet still good, would help him.)_


	42. Chapter 41 An Unexpected Short Chapter

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 41 – An Unexpected Short Chapter -****  
**  
Present Day:

With the woman he loved still encased tightly within the boundaries of his arms, Draco Malfoy found a peace within, which he had never felt before. It was whimsy, mythical, it could not be real. Yet it felt real. He looked down at the top of her head, and it looked real. She seemed to lean against him more than before. He could not help himself, he leaned down, and in a single movement, he picked her up in his arms and placed her back on the bed.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"Yes," she admitted.

"Why? It's not like you were almost poisoned tonight, oh wait, that was you," he grinned. He pulled the covers back over her body, and he lay on the outside. He loosened his tie. He took off his jacket and placed both at the end of her bed. He moved to his back and pulled her into his embrace. He put his arms tightly around her, and his right hand, around her back, came up to her hair. Hermione lifted her head up to him and stared. "Do I have something in my nose?" he asked.

She expelled a small laugh. "No, I just can't believe you are real."

"I'm not. I'm an aberration. A figment of your overactive imagination," he said, his fingers going lightly up and down her arms.

"If that is true, than I wish for this dream world never to end," she signed. She yawned next. She said, "Do you think this will be over before the election? Do you suppose they will find Howard and Anthony?"

Draco knew one thing, if Potter and the Aurors didn't find them, he would, and as old fashion as it sounded, he would make them pay. He didn't wait all these years, patiently mind you, for Hermione finally to come to her senses, to have some old man and some ex-boyfriend decided to wreak revenge on her. He would not have it! Not at all.

She said, "I'm itchy again."

He looked down at her. "Where do you itch?" She pointed to her left shoulder, which rested against his body. He pulled down the neckline of the ugly grey hospital gown, and kissed her shoulder. She muffled a smile. "Where else?" he asked. She pointed to her neck, by her right ear. He leaned over her, and kissed the spot to which she pointed. "Anywhere else?" She pointed to a small red hive on her chin. He kissed her chin, his lips hovering above hers, and then he kissed her lips.

"And?" he prompted.

Her eyes hooded with desire and she said, "I have an itch on my back, my lower back, to be precise."

He pushed her to sit up. He moved on the bed so that he was slightly behind her. He untied the top tie to the hospital gown, exposing her upper back. His fingertips went to her skin, brushing down her spine, and she shuddered, and he replied with a deep sigh. "Here?" he asked with his fingers on her middle back. He let his hand spread out wide.

"Lower," she said.

He untied the middle tie, and the gown came apart in the back. She moved to her side, holding the gown's front up to her shoulders. He leaned over her. He could see the exposed skin of her full back. He saw the curve of her spine, the juxtapose of her hip to her waist, the roundness of her bottom. His hand went down her side, under the material of the parted gown. He rested his hand on her hip, his fingers going lightly under the elastic of her knickers.

He kissed her middle back, sprinkled a row of kisses down her back, and then kissed across the expanse above her knickers, growing hard at the thought of what was underneath.

"Malfoy, we can't do more, not here, not now. I wish I felt better. I want you, I do." She turned to her back. His hand slid on her body as she turned, so that it was now completely under her gown, on her stomach. He brought it up until it rested under her breasts, his thumb and index finger lightly touching the roundness of the bottom of her breasts. He kissed her cheek, and then placed a lingering, enduring, passionate kiss on her mouth, parting hers slowly, playing with her lips, licking them leisurely, and then touching her tongue with his. He moved his mouth back to her neck, and she began to breathe harder, as did he.

She sighed. He looked at her at that precise moment. She did seem unwell. She was so pale, and so helpless looking. He kissed her mouth once more, a small, 'goodbye' kiss and said, "Shall I call the healers to relieve your itching?"

"I doubt they will do as good a job, but yes, I think I may need some more potions," she said. She tried to smile, but she was suddenly too tired for that.

He sat up from the bed, and walked out of the room. He noticed that Potter had placed two Aurors outside her door. That was good, but not good enough. He was not leaving her side tonight. No matter what, and no one could make him.

The healer came back in with Draco, and Hermione looked ten times worse. She was pallid, and she seemed to have short, raspy, breaths. She told the healer she felt nauseated. The healer left the room for a moment. Draco took her hand.

"Buck up there, Granger, you do realize you have to get better so you can beat me in the election," he whispered in her ear, his hands holding both of hers, his face next to her face, as he leaned his elbows on the bed.

"You will probably win, Draco," she said.

"Nonsense, everyone knows you will win," he said. "You have to win. You are the best person for the job."

"You will make a wonderful Minister of Magic, I know you will," she said. She suddenly let out a small whimper. "I feel so ill." He stood up and went back to the door. He opened it, as the healer from earlier, along with another, came back in the room. They asked him to step out. He refused. He remained by the door. They started to administer potions, and began to utter healing spells over her body. He had to turn and leave. What if she wasn't going to be okay? He stepped out past the Aurors, and went down the hallway. He found a small lobby, dark and dank. He slid down the wall, sat on the floor, knees bent, arms on knees and his head on top of his arms. He felt helpless. Draco Malfoy never, ever, felt helpless. Well, there was that one time.

His mind began to wander.

_Flashback:___

_The night of the Christmas Party at Malfoy Global International was one of the worse nights of Draco Malfoy's life, and it was meant to be one of the best. He had a big open house; the only reason being was to invite Hermione Granger. She had not arrived, and only Potter seemed worried. Well, Draco was worried, but outwardly, he had to appear that he was not at all concerned.___

_When Harry left to check the Ministry and her house, and came back and told Goldstein that she was at neither, Draco felt his heart literally drop to the pit of his stomach. He was worried. Where was she? He knew that she could not apparate directly to his office building, so she would have to arrive by other means. He thought he would check for her outside.___

_The office was in a seedy part of Muggle London, in the warehouse district. Outwardly, it appeared to be an old abandoned warehouse. Inside, it was one of the grandest buildings in Magical London. Draco popped outside, and he heard her scream before he saw her. He ran down the dark street, where there were not even any streetlights. He knew it was a risk to light his wand, in case a Muggle saw him, but he did.___

_He got there in time to see two men caring her to an alley. He saw her wand on the ground, and bent down quickly to pick it up and put it in his pocket. He saw them enter the alleyway, and he saw them drop her roughly to the ground, where she hit her head hard. One man straddled her body and ripped her dress. Draco cursed the man, and he fell off her, onto the ground. The second man ran before Draco reached them. He looked down at her. There was blood coming from her head. He saw her purse, but she was missing a shoe. He bent over her, at first he was in shock at what to do. There was the lifeless, motionless, form of the woman who haunted his every waking hour, and occupied every evening's dreams. He took his cloak from his shoulders, and placed it over her body. He said, "Please be okay." He ran back in the building to get Potter. Just then, he saw Potter leaving the building, and run down the alley. Good, he would find her. Draco apparated on the spot, just to apparate back moments later, so that Potter would not know he had been there.___

_Draco ran down the alley right after Harry. Harry ran down the alley, after the man who had run away. Draco pulled her wand out of his pocket and threw it on the ground next to her. Everything happened so fast, yet time moved as if in slow motion. Harry called some more Aurors, and then went back to the alley, where he noticed that Hermione had a cloak over her body, and that Draco was mysteriously missing his, but he did not say a word. He could see how upset and shocked the man was. Harry bent down to pick her up, and when he stood, Draco took her from his arms. ___

_Draco said, "Meet us upstairs in my private office." Draco apparated with her in his arms. Harry went to alert the Aurors.___

_Draco placed her gently down on the leather sofa. He touched her face. He felt utterly and hopelessly helpless, and he did not like that, not one bit. Her head was bleeding. She looked so small. There was nothing he wanted more than to place her in his lap, and take care of her, forever.___

_Potter came back in as Hermione began to stir. Draco left them alone. He did not want to impose. He did not want her to see him upset and feeling helpless. He came back in his office after Potter told him that Hermione was well, and that she was still waiting in his office. He said that she gave her thanks and warm regards. Well, fine then. All that mattered was that she was well. He did not have to see her, hold her, touch her, kiss her, to be assured that she was well.___

_He walked back in his office, but she was gone. Just like that and just like always, gone. He sat at his desk. He hit the desk with both hands, out of anger and frustration. Was she ever going to love him?___

_He hit the desk once more, and this time, he noticed that there was a piece of parchment folded over. He opened the note and it said, "Thank You, Draco, Love, Hermione." Love, Hermione. She wrote, 'Love, Hermione'. He had hope. His helplessness was replaced with hope._

Present Day:

Harry walked down to the lobby to look for Malfoy. He found him, sitting on the floor, knees up to his chest, staring off to the side.

"Malfoy? Hermione wants to see you."

Draco looked over at him. "She's okay?" he asked.

"Yes, she is. I just left her. She was having some trouble breathing, but the healers say she's going to be right as rain. She needs to sleep, but she won't even consider it unless you are with her," Harry said. He walked over to the other man, and offered him his hand. Draco looked at the hand and then back toward the wall.

"What if you don't find them? What if they try to hurt her again? What reason could they possibly have to want to hurt her?" Draco asked all these questions, while a hundred more swirled around his brain.

Harry hit Draco's shoulder with his outstretched hand. "Come on, Malfoy. Hermione's waiting." Draco took Harry's hand, and let the other man help him stand. It was Harry's way of telling Draco that no harm would come to her. Not if either of them had a say in it.

He walked back to her room, and she was asleep. Draco said aloud, but to himself, since no one else was in the room, "So much for her staying awake until I came back to the room."

She turned her head and weakly said, "Are you questioning my love and devotion?"

He smiled and said, "Were you faking? Pretending to be asleep so I would question your love and devotion? Because I have to say, I have had enough of your pretending to hate me. You must only love me from now on, even if it's pretend."

She held out her hand to him. "You really want to argue right now?" She closed her eyes. He came up and took her hand. He leaned over, kissed the top of it, and took his previous position beside her on the bed.

"No, we can argue later. Maybe have another debate," he said. He kissed the top of her head.

"Sure, when I am better, you can debate me," she said.

"It's a date," he answered. He pulled her to his chest again, as he listened to the steady sound of her breathing, and as she finally went to sleep. This time, he would take nothing for granted. He wasn't going to leave her this time, and have her possibly get away. He watched her all night long.

_(Author's Note: This was an unnecessary little chapter. I wrote the chapter just now, because the chapter I had already written, and that was supposed to be next, just seemed like, 'Blah, blah, blah', too much detail, no romance, to me. Explaining little details, conjecture, mystery, etc, but dammit, I just watched 'Pride and Prejudice' tonight, and I wanted a bit of good old fashion romance and melodrama, so I wrote this. So sue me. Or don't. Or do. If you want to re-read the part before the flashback, it's chapter 20, by the way._

I guess this makes this story just a bit longer. I may not post the already aforementioned chapter for a day or two, because I need to change a few things that I stole for this chapter, and because it seems boring. I work from 9am to 9pm tomorrow, so writing is out. I may write some Sunday. I have to have some minor things done at the hospital on Monday and Tuesday, so I may not write again until Tuesday night. Thank you to everyone who has made this story so pleasurable to write. I really am indebted to you all.

The Polls on are officially closed, because it took me almost an hour today to compute all the votes from non registered reviewers on that site, because I had to go through all the reviews (and there were over 1200 reviews) and find them, and then I took all the votes from 'Granger Enchanted' reviews, and added them to my poll result. It was such a close race. Someone won by a mere five votes! You will find out whom in the last chapter. Thanks again!!) 


	43. Chapter 42

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 42 –**

Present Day:

"Oh, my," sighed Hermione. She sat in a chair in her hospital room, wishing she were home. She did not see the need to stay in the hospital any longer. She had been there for two days already. She was fine already. She wanted to go home already! Draco finally left just this morning. He had been with her, none stop, since she had arrived. He went home to shower and change, much to his own chagrin, and with Hermione's insistence. The Aurors were still guarding her room, so seriously she was in no danger.

A Medi-witch came in her room holding a vase with flowers. "These just arrived for you," the nurse said.

"They aren't orchids, are they?" Hermione laughed.

The woman smiled and said, "No, and the Aurors already checked them out. Would you like me to read you the card?"

"Sure," Hermione answered.

The older woman took the card out of the envelope. She read, "Hermione, I am sorry. I will make everything right, I promise. Tell Percy the solution to his problem lies in the contents of this vase. I love you, and I always will. A.G."

Hermione stood up and took the card from the woman. "Who delivered these flowers?"

"I don't know dear, they were at the nurse's station when I came to work today," she said. She left the room. Hermione ran to the hall and told one of the Aurors that she needed to see Harry Potter immediately.

"He just arrived here, Miss Granger," the Auror told her.

"Could you tell him I need to talk to him," she asked.

"I don't think he's available right now. He's with the Minister of Magic," the other Auror said. "The Minister is very sick and they just brought him to St Mungos."

She took two deep breaths and felt tears fight to leave her eyes. "Thank you," she said. She stepped back in her room and sat on the bed. She looked over at the vase of flowers. She knew some of these flowers. They were magical, but the odd thing was, some of the foliage in the vase was not flowers at all. She stood up and walked over to examine them more carefully. Mixed in with the flowers were several herbs and plants, commonly used for potion making. There was even some bark and odder still, when she started to remove the 'potion' making ingredients; she found that the flowers were not in ordinary water. She took a deep sniff. She was not sure what was in the water, but she was certain it must be a mixture of liquid ingredients, which when used with all the other things in the bouquet would perhaps make an antidote for Percy. Who was in the hospital, possibly on his deathbed.

She ran back in the hall, and told one of the Aurors to find Harry Potter now!

Four hours later, the healers at St Mungos were able to figure out how to make the antidote for Percy. They began to administer it to him, but said that he had been poisoned for so long, that he would never be completely well. Hermione was certain of one thing, whatever Anthony had done in the beginning; in the end, he did the right thing.

Later that day Hermione was back in her room, with Ron and George Weasley. The Minister's family was so large, that not all of them could visit him at once, so Ron and George decided to visit Hermione.

She was sitting by George on her bed, as Ron sat in the chair. George said, "How many Slytherins does it take to hex a Ravenclaw?"

"I don't know, George, how many?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes.

"Two, one to perform the hex, and one to blame a Gryffindor," George laughed.

Ron snorted and said, "I have one, how many Hufflepuffs does it take to transfigure a teacup into a pin cushion?"

"How many, dear brother?" George asked.

"It doesn't really matter does it, as long as they all work together, and work as hard as they can, then that's all that matters." Ron laughed at his feeble joke. Hermione glared at them both.

"I have one," George said, "How many of the 'Golden Trio' does it take to ride a broomstick?"

Ron and Hermione both just stared at him. "Three," he said. "Harry to do it right, Ron to whine and become jealous about it, and Hermione to give us all an oral history of the origins of the first broom ever made."

George laughed and Hermione and Ron stared at each other.

Draco was standing in the doorway. He said, "How many Weasleys does it take to light up a room?"

Hermione turned to him and asked, "How many?"

"Who needs a light with all that bright red hair," he laughed. Hermione giggled and George snickered.

"Enough jokes," Ron said.

"Wait, I have one," Hermione said. "How do you change Malfoy's mind?"

George gleamed at her, put his arm around her shoulders and said, "I don't know, Hermione, how do you change Malfoy's mind?"

"Blow in his ear," Hermione said.

"I don't get it," Ron said.

George said, "See, Hermione, you could have used Ron for that joke, too."

Draco glared at her and said, "I do get it, and I hate dumb blond jokes." He came and sat on the other side of Hermione.

George said, "Hey Hermione, what do you call a Malfoy with half a brain?"

"Gifted?" Hermione asked. George sat on the other side of her, and they held hands and laughed.

"Okay, enough," Draco said. "I am sorry I told the Weasley joke."

"Hey, George," Hermione said, as she looked over at Draco and then back to George, "What do you get when you offer Malfoy a Knut for his thoughts?"

"I don't know what?" George laughed.

"Change," Hermione said. They both laughed. Ron snorted and Draco looked perturbed.

Draco said, "Why are Gryffindors like toilets?" All three former Gryffindors stared at him. He said, "They are all full of shite."

"Okay, enough jokes," Hermione said. She still had to smile. Only George laughed.

"I agree with Hermione," Ron stammered.

"Afraid we will move to gay humour next, Weasel?" Draco asked.

"I'm not gay," Ron said.

"Does you boyfriend, Potter, know that?" Draco asked. He turned to Hermione and said, "I think Ron has been riding Harry's broomstick for years now."

"Stop it," Hermione said, slapping his arm. "Did you hear the good news about Percy?"

"Yes, and I stopped by his room before coming here." He stood back up and said, "Weasel one, Weasel two, could you leave so I can talk to Hermione?"

"Are you sure that won't be too much strain on your brain?" George asked. Not waiting for an answer, he stood up and kissed the top of Hermione's head. Ron bent down and gave her a hug, and they both left the room, leaving just Hermione and Draco.

Draco sat back down and said, "They found Howard Spine."

"When?" she asked, shocked.

"Potter said they found him this morning, he was dead. Apparently Anthony cleans house very well," Draco said, holding her hand.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "Anthony had nothing to do with this, I am sure."

"Once again," Draco said, "I must remind you that you really don't know him very well, do you. He told you in his note with the flowers that he was going to take care of everything."

Hermione looked down at her hands. "They will probably never find Anthony."

"They may not," he agreed.

"Should we be worried?" she asked, still not looking at him. He slid his knuckles down her arm, until he reached her hand. He turned his hand around, putting his palm against the top of her hand. He grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth. He kissed her wrist.

"You never have to worry about anything," he assured her.

"We will never know why Howard did what he did, or why Anthony helped him," she said wistfully. She removed her hand from his and went to stand by the window. She looked outside. He stood behind her, not touching her, but right behind.

"My little reporter friend wrote a very interesting article that shines some light on the matter," Draco said. He put his arms around her waist, and said, "I'll leave a copy of the article for you to read." He let go of her and reached in his jacket. He pulled out a newspaper. "This afternoon's edition," he said as she turned around. He threw it on the bed and sat down beside it.

She sat beside him, picked up the paper, and read.

Later, when Harry came to visit her, she told him, "So it seems Anthony was having financial problems since the trade embargo law passed four years ago. Then, two years ago, when we passed the pureblood tax law, the one that would tax them at a higher rate than other wizarding families, but only those families who had more than five generations or more of purebloods in their families, he couldn't afford it. He had a lot of businesses on the side that were hurt by the law two years prior, so that the new tax law was just the final nail in his coffin, financially."

"If Anthony hadn't had all those side businesses, the law probably wouldn't have hurt him as much," Harry reasoned.

Hermione nodded and said, "Percy and Howard started to work on the Pureblood Definition Amendment, long before the tax law even came into being, but Percy was the one that ultimately squashed that law, because he thought it needed fine tuning. Howard didn't like that and he argued terribly with Percy. He threatened to tell everyone about Percy's sexual persuasion. It's not that Percy would have minded that so much, but that he didn't like being threatened, so when the opportune time came to let Howard go, he did. Percy fired Howard more because of that, than because of the mix up that time with me taking the folder home, and the Wizengamot not hearing the motion for the Muggle-born anti-discrimination law."

"I still don't see the connection between Howard and Anthony. I understand Anthony's motive, money, which is the motive for most crimes. He was losing it, and he thought if he became Minister, he could repel all those laws. But what was Howard's motive?" Harry asked.

"Revenge, against Percy and me, I'm afraid. He blamed Percy for squashing the Pureblood definition act, which Howard, as a Muggle born, wanted passed so badly for his own children and grandchildren. Also, because he was fired, and I took his job. He felt betrayed by me. He felt I took all the glory for the Muggle-born anti-discrimination law, when it was finally passed three months later. He also knew I was trying to revive the pure blood definition act, and he didn't want me to take his glory again. He was the one that tried to kill me, apparently, in the record room that time the shelf almost fell over on me. With Howard, he didn't do things for the good of people. He did things for the glory and the recognition," she explained.

"When did the two decide to work together?" Harry asked.

"Anthony found Howard one night, in one of the bars he apparently owned, drinking and lamenting on and on about how he should still be with the Ministry, and Percy did him wrong, and how I stole his job. They started talking, and came up with the plan to poison Percy. Howard came up with the poison. He said it was so slow acting that he would appear to have a long-standing neurological illness, and it would appear he died of natural causes. Anthony made sure he had an antidote all along, however, because he was working for and against Howard. He was working toward his own end. He never meant to go through with killing Percy."

"But Howard was getting anxious, especially when I was named Percy's successor. He thought it was 'more glory for Hermione', so he wanted me dead. Anthony had told him about my allergic reaction to the poisoned tea, so he knew it was more toxic to me than it was to Percy. He wanted to use that to kill me. Anthony convinced him that he could talk Draco into running against me, and that since we 'hated' each other, I could be made to step down without killing me."

"You never stepped down, and you and Malfoy didn't hate each other," Harry reasoned.

"Exactly, so everything Anthony really did after that was to keep me alive, even though it didn't seem like it at the time," Hermione said.

"That reporter found out all of that?" Harry asked.

"She's good," Hermione said back. She went over and sat on Harry's lap. He held her tight.

"We will find Anthony," Harry said. He kissed her cheek.

"I doubt that," she said. "But, I don't think I have to worry about him. Twisted though he may be, he didn't want me hurt."

Draco walked in the room and said, "Goodness, get off his lap, Granger. Now you are going to have Potter germs all over you."

"Harry might be contagious too," Hermione laughed, staying put. "The next time you kiss me you might develop the sudden urge to save the world."

Draco frowned and said, "As long as I don't get a scar and glasses."

Harry turned Hermione's face toward his with his hand, and kissed her square on the mouth for a good three seconds. Draco said, "Now that's just not right. Your mouth must be disinfected before we kiss again." He came over and pulled her off Harry's lap. "Are you ready to leave this place?"

"Am I discharged?" she asked.

"Apparently so," Draco said.

Harry stood up from the chair, and said, "Take it easy for the next couple of day, Hermione. Rest before the election, and before you know it, you will be the next Minister of Magic."

Draco said, "If I am next Minister of Magic, I am firing you, Potter."

Harry looked at Hermione, smiled, and went up to Draco, grabbed his face, and kissed his cheek. Draco screamed like a girl, and started to wipe his face with his hand. "Just a preview. Fire me and I kiss your lips."

"See," Draco pointed, "GAY! They are all gay! Granger, you don't only turn your boyfriends gay, but your best friends, too!"

She rolled her eyes and said, "I must remind you, Anthony and Ron didn't turn out gay, and neither is Harry. Harry likes girls!"

Harry laughed and headed toward the door. He turned back toward the room and said, "I love you, Hermione, I love you, Draco." He laughed the whole way out of the room.

"I swear, all those years of chasing the dark lord made that man not right in the head," Draco said. "Get dressed, Granger, we are springing you from this place."

"Go out in the hall so I can dress," she said.

He said, "Seriously. I have seen you naked. I've had my mouth on most of your body parts, so what's the difference if I see you get dressed or not?"

She thought for a moment, but headed toward the door, held it open for him, and said, "Bye, Malfoy."

He stepped out the door and waited for her in the hallway.

_Flashback:___

_Draco passed by a conference room at the Ministry of Magic, and looked inside. There, inside, was Hermione Granger and Anthony Goldstein. Draco had just had a meeting with the Minister of Magic. It appeared that Percy was anticipating firing Hermione's boss. Percy told Draco not to reveal that fact to anyone, but when it happened, Percy wanted to know if Draco wanted the position. Percy knew that Draco was trying to garner respectability over the last few years, and he knew that Draco had helped them convince other purebloods to pass the trade embargo. He felt Draco would be an important addition to his team. He told Draco he also knew that he had feelings for Hermione, and this would be Draco's opportunity to become closer to her.___

_Draco turned him down right away. He didn't particularly want to work at the Ministry. He wouldn't have minded working with Hermione, but he felt that if that Mr. Spine was let go, that Hermione, as his assistant, should get the job.___

_He stopped by the door, which was partially opened, and listened.___

_"I'm just saying that Percy seemed pretty impressed with his help during the writing of the law. You said that after you and Howard met with him, that even Howard thought he was sharp. What if Malfoy is after your job? Maybe that's why he is meeting with the Minister now."___

_"Anthony, please, Draco Malfoy is not after my job," Hermione said. "He was just a consultant. He runs his own company. Why would he want to work at the Ministry?"___

_"He hates you, you know. He would probably take your job just because of that," Anthony told him.___

_Draco felt like showing himself, so he did. "Goldstein, if you have something to say about me, say it to my face."___

_"Why were you and Percy meeting?" Anthony asked. Hermione went back to her work. She didn't seem concerned with what the men said to each other.___

_"That's my business, not yours, so don't concern yourself," Draco said. He stood almost toe to toe with the man. Anthony finally backed off, and turned to Hermione.___

_"Hermione, just think about the other thing we talked about, please? Let me know," he said.___

_She looked up at him and said, "I don't have to think about it. I gave you my answer. Sorry, Anthony." He walked up to her chair, and put his hand on her chin. Draco cringed when the man touched her face.___

_"Hermione, I only have your best interest at heart. I always have," he said.___

_She removed her chin from his grasp and said, "Please, go Anthony, I'm going to be here all night as it is. I still have so much work to do on this pureblood discrimination amendment. Percy is presenting it to the Wizengamot tomorrow, and I have to get back to it." She turned back to her work, with parchments and books all around her on the large table.___

_Anthony looked back toward Malfoy and said, "You heard her, she's busy, and she doesn't need you to stay in here and torment her."___

_"Granger!" Draco snapped.___

_"What?" she asked, irritated, looking up at him.___

_"Do you want me to leave?" he asked, still with short, terse, tones.___

_"I don't care what you bloody well do, just shut up," she answered.___

_Draco smirked at Anthony, pulled out a seat and said, "That's one for Malfoy, and zero for Goldstein, since she told you to leave, and she said she didn't care what I did."___

_Anthony huffed out the door and slammed it shut. Draco sat there for a long time, just looking at her. He wouldn't mind working with her, seriously. Maybe he would reconsider the Minister's proposal. If Mr. Spine received the ax, perhaps Draco would take his job. Hermione finally looked up and said, "Why are you staring at me?"___

_"Where do you want me to stare?" Draco asked.___

_"I don't know, the wall?" she answered. She went back to work.___

_He chuckled. The wall. Funny. He continued to stare at her. He pushed the chair slightly away from the table, and placed his feet up on top. He folded his arms on his lap. She looked up for a moment, and then swiped her arm across the table, removing his feet. 'Fine,' he thought.___

_"What did Goldstein want you to reconsider?" Draco asked.___

_"Our dating status," she answered, not looking up at him.___

_"Which is what, at the moment? I can't keep up with you two," Draco said.___

_He stood up and walked around the room. She looked up again and said, "Really Malfoy, I change my mind. I do care what you do. Leave. This is important work, and Mr. Spine sort of left it all for me to do, with no help, and it has to be in good order for Percy to present to the Wizengamot tomorrow, so do you mind?" He walked behind her and to the other side as she spoke, so her head turned from one side, and then to the other.___

_He looked at her closely. He narrowed his gaze, cocked his head, and regarded her for a brief moment. "Okay, Granger. I'll let you at it." He walked over to the door and turned back, "I'll leave the room, but I have to say one thing first."___

_"What?" she inquired, not even looking at him. ___

_"Put the quill down for a moment, and look at me, please," he said. ___

_She was surprised at how 'nice' he made that request, so she did. ___

_"Now, stand up and come here, just for a moment, no arguments, and then I shall leave you," Draco said calmly.___

_She pushed away from the table, and went to stand in front of him.___

_"Goldstein was wrong, you know that, right?" he asked.___

_She looked confused for a moment. "About what?" She really wanted to say that Anthony was wrong about many things, but she didn't want to get into a long conversation with Draco since she was so busy.___

_Draco reached over for her hand, and held it. She looked down at her hand in his. She always liked it when he would find excuses to touch her. She liked the warmth of his hand. It was reassuring. She looked back up at him, and it appeared that in the second she looked away, he had taken the opportunity to come closer to her. He finally spoke, "He was wrong when he said I hated you. I don't, you know that."___

_She smiled and said, "I know, you love me, you tell me that all the time." She continued to smile, thinking he would say something witty back to her. Instead, he continued to look at her, with almost a 'question' in his eyes. He kept her one hand captive in his, and his other hand skimmed down her arm, to hold her second hand. ___

_"Just remember that. Promise me that you will remember," he hesitated, and was going to add, 'remember that I do love you', but instead, he added, "that I don't hate you."___

_"I know," she said, not quite understanding. He let go of one hand, and brought his free hand up to skim her cheekbone lightly. He let go of the other, and walked out the door, shutting it softly behind him._

_(Author's Note: There will probably be only one more chapter, perhaps two if I do an epilogue, which really isn't always necessary. When I went to close my poll, I saw that there were a few new votes, so I decided to consider them, too. It didn't change the outcome, but the truth is that one of the candidates won by a mere two votes.)_


	44. Chapter 43

All characters belong to JKR

**Chapter 43 –******

Present Day:

The polls were closed. It was official. The next Minister of Magic had been elected. The outcome was a shock to a few, but other expected it. In the end, it was such a close vote, with the winner winning by less than one percent, that a recount was done. It did not change the results. The person who won did so by a mere two votes! Two votes!

Hermione laughed and said that maybe the results would have been different if she had voted for herself, which she did not. Draco told her that the results would have been the same, because he did not vote for himself either. He voted for her. They cancelled out each other's vote. Oh, the irony.

After the parties, and speeches, and mandatory press conferences, Draco and Hermione went back to her house to unwind. It had been a tumultuous election, and they were both worn out, to say the least.

As they sat on her couch, drinking champagne, and celebrating, they began to reflect on the last month. Neither regretted a thing that had occurred, for it brought them to this place.

"To the next Minister of Magic."

"Thank you," and they clanged their glasses together. "By the way, wasn't the winner supposed to ask the loser a certain question?"

"I believe so, and since that would be you, seeing that you won, it would behoove you to ask away."

"This isn't very romantic, and I am tired, so maybe I will wait and ask you tomorrow."

"Fine, Minister, ask me tomorrow, but I might change my answer by then."

"HA! No, you will not. You love me, and have for a very long time, so I know you want to marry me. You won't change your answer."

"Wait until I tell the press that the new Minister of Magic went back on a deal. They will eat it up."

"Playing dirty, even now, huh?"

"No, I just want you to ask the question that we both agreed would be asked by the winner to the loser. It's the most you could do, since I voted for you."

"Fine, but I really think you should ask me. Here we go," turns and takes the other's hands, "Will you do me the honour of marrying me?"

"Yes, I believe I shall."

Leaning over to kiss their intended, the person then said, "I knew you would say yes."

"And I knew you would go ahead and ask."

"Really, well, I knew you would beg me to ask."

"Do you know what I knew? I knew you would win, and I am really happy for you."

_Flashback:___

_Draco almost lost Hermione tonight. When Potter came, got him, and told him that she was going to be okay, and she wanted to see him, he was afraid to believe it was true. He came back to her room, to find her waiting for him. He held her in his arms until she finally fell asleep.___

_A medi-witch walked in the room. She said, "Is she sleeping, finally?"___

_"Yes, she is," Draco said, holding her to his chest.___

_The medi-witch walked up to the bed and touched her forehead. "The healers said it was a close call. If that orchid hadn't come off her when it did, she would have died. They said if she was exposed even just ten more minutes, it would have turned fatal."___

_"I didn't know it was that close, wow," Draco said. "Good thing the orchid was removed when it was. I guess that bastard did the right thing in the end."___

_"Who?" the medi-witch asked.___

_"Anthony Goldstein. He was once her boyfriend, but we found out he was behind poisoning the Minister, and he was working with another bloke to make Hermione step down from running for Minister, but when the other bloke tried to kill her tonight, well, Goldstein stopped it, by removing the poisonous flower. I guess in the end, he wasn't all-bad. At least he cared enough about her not to want her dead, and I for one will always be grateful to the stupid bastard."___

_The medi-witch smiled and touched Hermione's hand. "She's cold." She went to the cupboard in the room, and took out another blanket. She put it over Hermione's body. She said, "Well, take care of her."___

_"I intend to," Draco said. "I've waited a lifetime to take care of her. It's my whole purpose for being."___

_"Really?" the woman said. "She seems like a nice person. She deserves that kind of love."___

_"Yes, I think so," Draco said again. He bent down and kissed her head. Hermione stirred slightly, and put her hand on Draco's chest. ___

_The old woman turned to leave and said, "One request, Mr. Malfoy."___

_"Yes?"___

_"Be sure to tell her about what the healers said. About how if the dress hadn't been removed, she would have surely died. I think she deserves to know that. She deserves to know that this Goldstein chap didn't hate her, don't you think?"___

_"Yes, I do, and thank you, I will do that," Draco said.___

_The woman left the room.___

_The next morning, Draco went to get some coffee. The old woman again came in her room. She passed the two Aurors and closed the door. Hermione appeared to be sleeping. She walked up to her and said, "Are you awake, dear?"___

_"Oh, hello," Hermione said weakly. She felt so drained, she couldn't even sit. She said, "Do you know where my boyfriend is?"___

_Boyfriend? She called Draco Malfoy her boyfriend. The woman hadn't thought she would refer to him by that. "He went to get some breakfast, I think. He stayed by your side all night long."___

_"Yes, he's very sweet," Hermione said, adding, "And sometimes he's a prat, but I can put up with that side of him."___

_The woman sat by her bed and said, "Do you love him?" She found out that Draco loved Hermione last night, so she decided to ask the question to Hermione.___

_"Yes, I love him more than I thought possible," Hermione said.___

_The woman patted Hermione's hand and said, "So, is this the first time you've ever been in love?"___

_"Well, no," Hermione admitted. She turned so she was on her side, and put her hands flat under her cheek. She looked at the wall and said, "I loved my first boyfriend, Ron, but we were best friends first and foremost. I loved a man named Blaise Zabini, but he left me because I thought he thought I wasn't good enough for me. Ended up he thought HE wasn't good enough for me. And I loved my old boyfriend, Anthony. I really did. I wouldn't have been with him for as long as I was if I didn't love him."___

_"Why didn't things work out with this Anthony?" the woman asked. She began to stroke Hermione's hair. Neither gave the gesture much thought.___

_"I guess I was in love with another, but I still loved him, just not as much as I loved Draco. It was wrong of me to string him along for so long, but I think we sort of used each other, and became too comfortable with each other," Hermione admitted. "But, that doesn't mean I didn't love him. Draco said that Anthony was the one that ultimately saved my life, because if I had stayed in contact with the poisonous flower much longer, I would have died. I have to remember that, always. He might have been misguided, and he made many mistakes, but he loved me, too. He must have, or he would have let me die."___

_The older woman stood and smiled. She bent down and kissed Hermione's cheek. "Just always remember that, dear. He loved you in the end, and he did what was right. Remember the good times, not the bad, and remember that he loved you, and that at one time you loved him, you really did."___

_"Thank you," Hermione said.___

_The older woman left Hermione's room.___

_The next day, when Draco had finally gone home to shower and change, the old woman took the opportunity to take a vase of 'flowers' into Hermione's room. "These just arrived for you," the nurse said.___

_"They aren't orchids, are they?" Hermione laughed.___

_The woman smiled and said, "No, and the Aurors already checked them out. Would you like me to read you the card?"___

_"Sure," Hermione answered.___

_The older woman took the card out of the envelope. She read, "Hermione, I am sorry. I will make everything right, I promise. Tell Percy the solution to his problem lies in the contents of this vase. I love you, and I always will. A.G."___

_Hermione stood up and took the card from the woman. "Who delivered these flowers?" ___

_"I don't know dear, they were at the nurse's station when I came to work today," she said. She left the room. She smiled. She knew Hermione was smart and would figure everything out, and Percy would be saved.___

_Now she had to go home, because she had an interview to do with a reporter, because she needed to tell the story that everyone was waiting to be told. The nurse walked back to a flat in a posh part of town. She changed her clothes, and sat and waited. That was all that could be done, just wait.___

_About an hour later, the polyjuice potion began to wear off, and the nurse turned back into Anthony Goldstein. He stood up and looked in the mirror. No one before had mastered a polyjuice potion that could turn a person from one gender to another. This was going to make him rich. He already had the backing from a firm who wanted to market it. The only problem was, he had to hide his identity for the rest of his life. He looked in the mirror again and said, "Goodbye, Anthony Goldstein. It will be a while before I see you again."___

_He went to the floo to open it, because he was expecting a visitor. Malfoy's young reporter friend was coming by for an interview, and he wanted to talk to her in his real form. He knew she wouldn't betray his confidence.___

_Overall, Anthony was happy how things developed. This new potion would make him rich, and he could start a new life. He did regret he hurt Hermione, and Percy, but he made amends on those counts, as well. He didn't regret killing Howard Spine. Not at all. If he were a better person, he might, be he didn't.___

_Everything was being taken care of, all loose ends were being tied, and soon, Anthony Goldstein would be gone forever, and Lawrence Havens would be a rich man. He was looking forward to his new life as Lawrence. He could start anew. All was well.___

_A few days later, Lawrence was in his new house in London, with a new contract for his polyjuice potion promising to make him millions. All ties to his former life were gone. He looked at his new reflection. He was blonde and blue eyed now. Well, it worked for Malfoy, so why not. He had also developed a potion that could permanently alter a person's appearance, if it was taken long enough, but he would keep the secrets of that potion to himself for a while.___

_He poured himself some coffee and he picked up the morning paper. The elections results were splashed all across the front page. What a close race! The winner won by less than 1 percent of the vote. They did a recount, and the results were the same. If he were running, he would demand another vote, with a count that close, but he knew Hermione and Draco would leave it all alone.___

_He decided to send her some flowers. Not orchids. Real flowers. He would just say, Congratulations, from a friend. ___

_He threw the paper back on the table. He couldn't believe Draco Malfoy won. He really thought Hermione would win. It didn't matter. He knew they would pretty much run the office together. He went to write the card that would accompany the flowers he wanted to send her. Yes, Congratulations were definitely in order, because she finally had a man who would love her completely, love her sincerely, and love her forever. She deserved that._

Present Day:

"So I asked you to marry me, Granger," Draco said a few days later, as they sat in his new office at the Ministry of Magic, "and I also let you keep your job as Under Secretary, so since I have done so much for you, tell me, what are you going to do for me?"

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, looking up from a card that had just arrived with a vase of flowers.

He didn't answer. He walked over to her and said, "Who are the flowers from?"

"The card just says, 'Congratulations, on finally falling in love, may this one last a lifetime', but it's not signed," Hermione said. Draco thought she looked concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He touched her face.

"It's Anthony's handwriting," she said. He took the card from her and read it again.

He said, "Should we show it to Potter?"

"No, I think this is the last we will ever hear from Anthony Goldstein," she said. She continued to look preoccupied and worried. He lifted her by the shoulders and held her tight.

"Hey, what say you to a summer wedding?" he whispered.

"Oh, silly, I hope you didn't take my yes seriously, I'm not going to marry you," she said, pushing on his chest.

He looked upset for a millisecond and then said, "It's verbal contract, Granger, and besides, my first act as Minister is to pass a law that all Muggle-born witches must be married before age 29, or they will be caste out of society, so that doesn't leave you much time."

She smiled and hit his chest. "You can't pass such a crazy law. I was joking, anyway. I'm going to marry you as soon as I can, if my boss will give me time to plan my wedding."

"Consider it done, you're fired, Granger," he said. He walked over to his desk and sat down, "Now, get out of my office. I don't know what your job is around here, but some of us have real work to do."

"Oh, Malfoy, you really are such an idiot," she said. She sat on his desk and began to swing her legs back and forth. She grabbed the quill out of his hand and threw it across the room.

"Granger! I'm a busy man!" he said.

"Well, I used to be a busy woman, and that never stopped you from bothering me before!"

"Just leave, or you really will be fired."

She laughed, turned on his desk to face the door, pulled out her wand, shut, and locked the door with a spell. She turned back toward him and began to remove her shirt.

"What are you doing?' he asked.

"Seducing you," she said.

"I really do have work to do, and I have a meeting in an hour, and we are at work!" he said, sincerely.

She threw her shirt over her head. "Oh how the tables have turned!" she said, kicking off her shoes.

He backed his chair up and said, "Granger, I'm warning you, stay where you are."

She stood up and removed her skirt. She said, "I don't have pantyhose on today, do you appreciate that fact? Look, garter and stockings," she said, as she placed one foot on his chair between his legs, and pulled her hands up her leg, to demonstrate.

"Don't make this hard on me, Granger," he said. His resolve was melting.

She straddled his lap, and removed her bra. "It's already hard, sweetheart." She was being coy. He always liked that. She brought her mouth down to his for a demanding kiss, her hands in his hair. His hands went around her back to hold her tight.

"Sometimes I think I hate you Granger, I really do," he said against her neck, before suckling on the skin below her ear.

"I know you do, but I love you, Malfoy," she said. She really, really did.

THE END!! (Well...there is a short epilogue!)

_  
(Author's Note: All I can say is a one big Thank You to everyone who read this story and made it so popular, and special. It was more than a "Special Election", it was a "special story" because of each person who read and reviewed. Can you believe that Draco won by only two votes. I really did do a recount. TWO VOTES!_

I hope you won't all hate the fact that I didn't kill off Anthony, but like I said, I never really intended him to be the 'true bad' guy, and I knew in the very beginning that I wanted to end it with him looking at the paper, and that was how I wanted the results revealed to all of you.

Also, reading over the first few chapters, I can see how it seemed like Hermione and Draco rushed into their relationship, and I personally hate stories like that, and even though my intention was always to show that their relationship had actually been blossoming from the beginning, with all the flashbacks, all of you didn't know that, so I am SO GLAD that you all stuck it out, and I hope it made sense in the end.

We all know how longwinded I am, (If I wasn't, this wouldn't have been 43 chapters, the most chapters of any of my stories yet, and over 160,000 words, my third longest after "A Familiar Place I and II) so, I will wrap up this note with another big THANK YOU to everyone who read, everyone who reviewed, and everyone in between. You all are the reason I do this! Love to all!) 


	45. Chapter 44 Epilogue Flashback

All characters belong to JKR

Epilogue –

_Flashback:___

_It was the first day of her life. That was what she thought. Her life, her future, her destiny, lay before her feet. In reality, it was the first day of school. She was heading off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She turned and kissed her parents goodbye. She told them that she would get on the train by herself. She was always independent, even back then.___

_She was prepared; at least, she was as prepared as a twelve-year-old girl who grew up in a non-Magical family, could be. She had already read "Hogwarts a History" that summer. Her parents and she bought all her books, and she had already read most of them. They were given instructions of how to do everything, and what to expect, so by all accounts, she was prepared. She was also afraid and nervous.___

_She knew from the literature from the school that 'Muggle borns' like her were rare. She also had a feeling she would be made to feel different, but that would be nothing new. She had felt different her whole life. She was always smarter than her classmates were, had more of a social conscience, and had been more mature. She had few friends, so she felt she was leaving nothing behind. Her biggest hope was that she would be accepted, and that she would make friends that would last her a lifetime.___

_She crossed onto the platform, and she felt she had been transported back to another century. Everyone was dressed weird. Everyone was saying strange things. She now wished she had her parents cross over with her. She pushed her trolley to the train. She saw people loading their trunks in the last two cars, so she followed suite. A nice man with red hair lifted her trunk and smiled at her. That was nice.___

_She kept out her book, and she had already changed into her robes at home. She did not know that most of the children were still dressed in their everyday clothing. Most people must change on the train. She would have to remember that for next year. She climbed into the train, and started down the narrow passageway. She found an empty car and sat down. She looked out the window. All she wanted was to make a friend, and learn. That was all she wanted.___

_Draco Malfoy arrived late. His father and mother walked with him to the train. His trunk and belongings had already been delivered. He noticed how most of the adults looked at his father. He wanted to believe they were looking at him because of respect, but he feared it might be something else. His mother kissed his cheek, which embarrassed him. She promised to send him weekly care packages. His father shook his hand. "Remember, you are a Malfoy, and that makes you special. You are above all of these others, because you are a pureblood. Do not associate with those below you. You have a reputation to maintain. Make me proud, son."___

_Draco walked along the narrow passageway. Most of the cars were already occupied. He looked in one car and saw a girl, all by herself, with bushy brown hair, reading "Hogwarts a History". She looked up at him and said, "Hello, my name is Hermione Granger."___

_He was going to say that he thought that was a funny name, but his name was funny too, so he would not say anything. He said, "My name is Draco Malfoy." He thought that might impress her. Apparently, it did not. She just smiled and said hello again and went back to her book.___

_He hung in the doorway and said, "Are you pureblood or half-blood?" He figured he would cut to the chase. No sense wasting his time if she was half-blood.___

_"Oh, neither actually," she said, "I am a Muggle-born."___

_Draco curled his upper lip in disgust. "You mean you are a Mudblood."___

_Hermione frowned. She had not heard that word before, but it did not seem nice. She decided to ignore the boy, so she went back to reading. He sat down opposite her and said, "You don't know what that means do you?"___

_She looked back up at him.___

_Draco sat opposite her and said, "It means you are inferior to me, in everyway, shape and form. You will never be good enough. You do not deserve your magic. I am smarter than you are, I am better with magic. You will never really belong in this world. You might as well accept it now." The boy did not say all of this with anger or even especially malicious, but Hermione could tell he meant what he said. Moreover, what he said hurt her feelings beyond mere words. She was hurt more than she had ever remembered being hurt. ___

_She could not help it; a tear fell down her cheek. The boy stood back up, and frowned. He did not mean to make the girl cry. He just wanted her to know how things were. She had a right to know. His father had told him this, so it was the truth, and it was not wrong to tell people the truth, was it?___

_He walked back out the door and closed it, to find another compartment to sit. She made a vow right then, and right there, that someday she would end pureblood prejudice, even if she had to pass a law to do so.___

_Later that day, at the sorting, the curly haired girl was sorted into Gryffindor. His father said that Slytherins hated Gryffindors, because it was a matter of pride and the state of things. He almost felt sorry for the little girl. She would have had it easier, being a Mudblood, if she had been put in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. ___

_A few days later, they were in their first charms class. The Mudblood could already do the correct incantation, and the teacher awarded her house 20 points. Draco had noticed that she seemed to excel him in every class they had so far. He did not understand. He should be better than her, just because of his birth. It was his birthright.___

_A month went by. He would notice the girl by herself, a lot. She did not seem to have any real friends. Mostly, she read in the library, or studied. She always walked down the hall with her head held high, so apparently, she was not ashamed of who or what she was.___

_She answered all the questions in class correctly. The only teacher that did not drool over her was Snape. Malfoy liked that fact. It would put her in her place.___

_He found himself thinking about her a lot. He really wished she were not a Mudblood. Maybe someday, someone smart could change things. If he ever became Minister of Magic, maybe he would change things. Maybe she could help. He would like that._

_ Thank You! _


End file.
